Paskenta Supports Its Firefighters!

Paskenta: A Town with No Water Shares an Abundance of Love and Food for Firefighters

The August Complex Fire in Tehama County

You know it is summertime in Paskenta, CA when this Tehama County town runs out of water, and the smoke from wildfires starts filling up the skies. This year is a record-breaker. At press time, the August Complex Fire, the largest fire in California history, was getting frighteningly close to the town. This fire, which was originally 37 separate fires, had merged into one massive fire that was over a quarter of a million acres in size, keeping Paskenta blanketed with smoke and ash for weeks.

When lightning first sparked the fires in mid-August, contract crews from other states joined the local firefighters and workers from Crane Mill, the area’s logging company, to protect property near Paskenta. The townspeople soon learned of the dilemma facing these firefighters. For them to eat, rest and shower after their exhausting shifts, they would need to drive two-plus hours round-trip each day.

Kate Estes, a lifetime Paskenta resident, sprang into action, telling herself and others, “Look and see what meat we can take out of the freezer.” That is how it began, and now Kate, her family, and friends are cooking enough breakfasts and dinners to feed more than 100 frontline workers daily at the Paskenta Community Hall. The town has also opened a park where non-local workers can sleep.

Paskenta – small but mighty

With a population of just over 100, Paskenta may be small, but it is mighty, and the townspeople won’t let a thing like a diminished water supply stand in the way of helping others. This is their third consecutive summer of running out of water; they are adapting.

Everyday water is trucked in from the nearby town of Corning, CA. The townspeople didn’t think twice about sharing that water with the crews. A shower was quickly rigged up for the firefighters with a tank and tarps.

Paskenta townspeople step up to help

Covering the walls of the Paskenta Community Hall are photographs of the area’s founding families. The resiliency of those mill workers and ranchers and wives shows on their faces. Kate says, “Whenever the people in this area encounter a problem, the women step up to help.”

Kate Estes has both millworkers and ranchers in her family’s heritage. Her family still raises Herefords, and their ranch house is over a century old. Now some of her family’s cattle range is being threatened by the August Complex Fire.

Present-day Paskenta residents Linda Solberg, her sister Bonnie Zimmerman, and Patty Smith arrive at the community hall before daybreak to start the coffee. They are soon joined by Rick and Melinda Webb, Tammy Whitlock, Chelle Senter, and Kate Estes. Linda says, “It is great sending the firefighters off with a good meal.”

The camaraderie between the neighbors is also a rewarding experience. Local children adorn the outside walls of the hall with their artwork, praising the firefighters for their heroic efforts.

The feeding crew has received donations from all over the valley—monetary and food and even two new ovens. Aside from breakfast sandwiches, pastries and Philly cheesesteaks, the crew also provides a table full of personal items that the firefighters might need. The workers feel pampered! One wife came to visit and was surprised to see that her husband is putting on weight from all the good home-cooked meals.

Children’s artwork decorates Paskenta Community Hall, where more than 100 frontline fire fighters get breakfast and dinner each day. Photos by Justine Reddish.

At Paskenta Community Hall, hospitality is second nature

Hospitality is second nature for the folks at the Paskenta Community Hall. A weekly quilting group welcomes anyone who wants to try their hand at sewing. Barn sales, weddings, funerals, and St. Patrick’s Day festivities are just an example of the events that keep the doors at the hall swinging.

The feeding crew had already developed a kinship with Diana Jones of Texas, who tragically died while working on the fire lines on August 31, 2020. Diana was the one who extended hospitality to others and fed firefighters back in Texas. As an EMT and volunteer firefighter, she traveled with her son, a fire captain. The townspeople were heartbroken over the tragedy. Diana’s family invited Kate to fly out to the funeral in Texas.

Authentic, hardworking people

Pastor Justin BeDell is serving as an interim pastor at the Paskenta Flournoy Bible Church. He lost his house in the 2018 Camp Fire that destroyed Paradise, CA, and is now making the weekly commute to Paskenta from Yuba City. He visited the hall to speak to firefighters after Diana Jones’s death. BeDell continues to be in awe over the interconnection that exists among the locals in the area. He explains, “They are authentic, hardworking people who genuinely care for others. It was no surprise to me that they rallied together to support the firefighters.”

Thank you, Paskenta, for showing our nation the true colors of small-town America.

From North State Parents’s This is Tehama monthly column.