John Babcock is safe.
If Paradise, California, where the deadliest wildfire in history has left more than 70 people dead and thousands missing, sounds familiar to Times-Journal readers, it’s because it’s the place Mr. Babcock, who grew up in Richmondville, calls home.
Or did.
The Camp Fire leveled Paradise, CA, the Butte County town of 26,218, in an instant, and Mr. Babcock, who escaped with not much more than the shirt on his back, is happy to be alive.
Mr. Babcock is a popular T-J letter writer, frequently sharing stories about his beloved home in Northern California at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
It was Mr. Babcock’s Richmondville Central School classmate Harold Loder who first confirmed that he was safe and staying with his son in Chico, about 15 miles southwest of Paradise.
“I was trying and trying to get him on the phone with no luck,” Mr. Loder said. “I was giving it another try when I was walking into Wal-Mart and he picked up. He’s safe. He’s quite a character and it was good to hear his voice.”
Mr. Babcock’s phone mailbox quickly filled up with calls from family and other friends and locally, people who knew him through his letters began contacting the T-J to check on him.
In an email to the T-J Thursday, Mr. Babcock thanked everyone for their concern.
“I am OK and living at my oldest son’s home in Chico…” he wrote. “Lost my home, even my billfold I left behind.
“There was very little warning to evacuate. The wind was terrible and they could not stop the fires. A majority of the residences are gone and most of the business district. There have been many deaths and they are still finding others.
“FEMA has arrived. The Governor and high-level officials from Washington also. There is a large list of missing persons on the internet. Many survivors have fled to the larger City of Chico in the valley.
“There is a tent city in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. It is a very tragic situation. I am just happy to be here.”
When Mr. Loder spoke with Mr. Babcock, his old RCS classmate told him he was trying to hose down his home when he was ordered to evacuate--the last person to leave his neighborhood.
Saturday, Mr. Babcock emailed the T-J with a letter to the editor offering more details.
He writes:

“Dear Editor,
I was planning on writing about how it was getting ready for the fall and winter hunting and trapping season: boiling the traps to remove the oil, scouting the woods for deer scrapes on the willows and enjoying the fall colors and lower humidity.
But now my home in Paradise is gone along with many things that cannot be replaced like some of my late wife’s items, our 170 year-old family Bible that I was going to donate to the historical society, and many personal items that I did not have time to throw in the Ford camper shell.
I woke up at four this morning remembering our Chevy camper van that we had spent a lot of time traveling in, being consumed by flames and the burning vehicle trailer nearby also burning despite my futile efforts with a garden hose.
Near hurricane force winds blew the flames like a blow torch.
The large pine tree near the fence was burning like a roman candle with the large nearby Church of Christ going up in flames in the background.
It was dark as night at eight o'clock in the morning and hard to breathe or see very far.
A police officer came and ordered me to leave, but after he left I stayed and tried to put out spot fires and spray water on the house roof.
I had a hard time putting our little cat in her carrier and throwing as many items as I could into the pickup, even leaving my wallet with ID and credit cards in the house. There was very little time to do anything.
I finally had to leave with houses burning on both sides of the street, driving over burning branches and following the taillights of another vehicle. It took several hours to travel the 16 miles to my oldest son's home in the nearby City of Chico.
Besides my home, another son and daughter lost their homes. Gone also, are the 1927 Star Car, a 1928 Model A, and a 1965 Mustang with an Elvis mannequin in back with an external sound system that we drove in many local parades.
Sadly I just found out that a close musician friend has died in his home here in Paradise.
We played country music for the seniors in a nearby town almost every Saturday before their Bingo games. He was a docent at the local Gold Nugget Museum that went up in flames and had planned to retire in December.
When I worked for the federal Forestry Service, the Fire Management Officer said that Paradise had a “BellAire potential”, that being a large fire in the Los Angeles area years ago that burned many homes because in any fire starting at night, the borate planes [borate is used in aerially to but out wildfires] could not fly and the many trees and vegetation made the town a fire hazard.
I don’t think anyone expected to have the terrible winds that fanned the fire to an uncontrollable degree that it did.
The local high school cancelled its participation in the section playoff games. Schools in the county are closed until  December 3. We cannot return to Paradise until it’s safe to do so.
Bodies are still being recovered  
My experience in this event brought memories of the barn burning one night just below Richmondville when I was a teenager. Several cattle and an airplane were lost in that event…
I saw the big wooden sign that said: “Welcome to Paradise, May it be all that the name implies”, is what I believe it said. It went up in flames also.
Maybe Paradise will rise again like the mythical bird from the ashes and will again be what the name implies. Many folks hope so, even though it will be a difficult task.  I feel very lucky to be here and look forward to being there in the near future.
Thanks very much for the many contacts from friends back there. I really appreciate it.”
For friends who want to contact Mr. Babcock, he ends with a new address:         
John H.Babcock, 582 Centennial Ave, Chico, Ca. 95928  Phone: 530-521-8643.