“It’s never going to be the Paradise it was.”

Roger Brown, Paradise, Calif., resident. Nearly seven years after the Camp Fire destroyed most of Paradise, the town is rebuilding — but not returning to what it once was. Younger families have moved in, drawn by affordable land and the promise of a fresh start, while many retirees and low-income residents have not returned. Of the more than 10,000 homes lost, just 30 percent have been rebuilt, reshaping Paradise’s identity in the process. For survivors like Brown, recovery has been both hopeful and heartbreaking — proof that rebuilding a town is not the same as restoring it. (Los Angeles Times)