The Role Archaeologists Played in The Paradise Fire Recovery
This entry was written by Anna Hill, Fall Semester 2019 for a final essay in Anthropology 3: Introduction to Archaeology at Yuba College.
Anna Hill
Anthro 3, 11:30- 1:05 - T-Th
Final Mini-paper
The Role Archaeologists Played in The Paradise Fire Recovery
Early on the morning of November 8, 2018, many in the small town of Paradise were just waking up or still in bed. At 6:30 a.m., calls started pouring into 911 dispatchers with people confused about the smoke and ash they were seeing. Phone lines were congested with callers, and they did not stop. Dispatchers had almost no answers for callers as the fire was moving rapidly and covering ground at a speed of 80 football fields per minute (Boghani).
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That fire would burn for two weeks, making it not the biggest, but the deadliest and most destructive fire in California State history. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the fire “burned more than 153,000 acres, or 240 square miles, destroyed some 19,000 structures, including about 14,000 homes, and caused an estimated $11–13 billion in residential and commercial losses.” (Verzoni)
The most significant loss in this disaster was the loss of life. In the days after the fire, thousands were reported missing. This presented an urgency to find these thousands of people. The majority turned up alive, but some did not. In the end, 85 people perished in the Paradise Fire.
People were desperate to find their loved ones, and local agencies requested the help of Anthropologists, including the faculty and students of the Human Identification Laboratory at Chico State.
One type of human cremains removal in the Paradise fire was that of the 85 who lost their lives. But there was another type of removal: the cremains of people’s loved ones who passed away before the fire.
Archaeologist Lucy Gill on scene in Paradise. Photo by Audria Ruscitti
During the recovery process, anthropologists and archaeologists searched for human remains of those that did not perish in the Paradise fire. Archaeologists paired with forensic canines from the Institute for Canine Forensics also helped to identify human cremains of loved ones left behind during the disaster.
Amongst the devastation, in addition to “stuff”, people lost loved ones all over again. Some were kept in metal urns or other receptacles. The intensity of these wildfires melts a metal urn and destroys ceramic and wood. People’s ashes intermixed with the debris that fell around them. But ICF knew they could help, because their dogs could sniff out human cremains. This honorable service would give back in a big way.
On Facebook and other social media, ICF posted about their need for skilled archaeologists to assist in the recovery of human cremains. They were looking for an array of different skillsets to compliment the services they could provide in retrieving people’s loved ones from the rubble. In addition to the social media posts, the ICF also worked with two Northern California archaeological firms including Alta Archaeology of Sonoma County. (Bruton)(Westwood).
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The canines at the Institute for Canine Forensics are trained to smell beyond the normal smell of the deceased, which would usually include the decomposition of organic materials. The smell of old burials or even the smell of human cremains amongst other fire debris is so faint, that they have trained their dogs to be able to pinpoint prehistoric remains, dry bones, or cremains. According to their website, “As a result, we’ve modified our search protocols and focus our training only on locating this very old, weak human scent.” (ICF)
The process of working with canines begins by surveying an area that is thought to have cremated human remains. A field coordinator will usually pick an area to be excavated and trainers work their dogs methodically covering as much ground as possible. At any single site, two dogs are usually used. First, dog #1 will comb the area looking for the scent of human cremains. Then at a later time, dog #2 will also comb-over that same area. This is done to ensure that detection is precise. (ICF)
Once a canine has sensed a human, they will usually pause or sit to indicate that human remains have been detected. From here, skilled eyes are needed to locate, process, and identify what the dogs have found. They needed to visually distinguish bone from other debris. It was important to note the precise color and texture cremains turn when they have burned twice. This is where the archaeologists came in.
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In an interview by email, I spoke to Lisa Westwood, an Associate Faculty member of the Anthropology Department at both Chico and Butte Colleges. Lisa has 25 years’ experience specializing in human osteology, including the identification of “human cremation features in an archaeological context.” I asked Westwood how an experienced archaeologist distinguishes cremains from a person who perished in a fire, versus the cremated remains of a person whose “ashes” were lost in a fire. Was it possible to see a difference? Westwood replied, “Bone that is fresh at the time of burning (i.e., recently deceased) has a higher organic content than bone that is from an individual who died long ago. We call the fresh bone "green" and the older bone "dry." There is a notable difference between the burning of green bone - it exhibits checking and spiral fracturing, in particular. This does not occur with dry bone, and so when we find checking and spiral fracturing, we know that the individual was recently deceased at the time of burning.” (Westwood)
In the case of the Paradise Fire, human remains were discovered within the outlines of structures. Remnants of the structure, furniture, and other items are often mixed with the cremains. This meant that the cremains could be between many layers of debris. Instead of digging into the earth below, archaeologists begin removing superficial ash, layer by layer, determining what type of ash they’re looking at.
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Having skilled eyes to notice the difference is vital to a project like this. In my interview with Westwood I asked her even in their most reduced form of ground fragments, could bones be distinguished from other burned debris. She replied, “…to a trained archaeologist, this is easy. The color of the bone, however, is affected by two primary things: the temperature of the fire (higher temps result in white or blue) and the amount of organic material.” (Westwood)
Once stay away orders were lifted from the town, with their canine partners at their side, archaeologists donning hazmat protective suits and respirators, began their work in Paradise. The forensic canines can give them an advantage by pinpointing an accurate test area. Their ability to smell what humans cannot is an asset for archaeologists on the scene. The time that would be spent searching is dramatically reduced by using this method.
The steps that are taken in the recovery of human cremains in an urban setting where a disaster has occurred, differs greatly from searching for cremains from hundreds or even thousands of years ago. In an archaeological setting, “burn features” as Westwood calls them, would be located underground. “Context is everything.” Westwood explains, “Once a fragment of bone is found there is first an important process under state law to contact the coroner to determine whether or not the remains are the result of a crime scene or a native American.” Or, in this case, the cremains of a family member. According to Westwood, once the scene has been cleared by the coroner, archaeologists will begin to excavate the area by using a test pit method. Taking small amounts of debris at a time, they screen the ash away from the fine fragments of bone with a 1/8” mesh. Using a finer mesh allows for bone fragments and other bigger debris to stay on top of the screen. Smaller particulate like dirt and ash will be sifted away. Screens can be helpful, but they are also limited in what they can do. She explains, “there are so many other large pieces of debris that get caught in the screen that the use of screens can be limited by ground conditions.” (Westwood)
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Cremated bones cannot be identified without DNA. Teeth are often the only part of the body intact after cremation. DNA from these teeth can be compared to living individuals, or teeth can be matched up to dental records. (Westwood)
During modern cremation, a body is incinerated at a minimum of 400 degrees centigrade. It can take anywhere up to 3 hours to fully incinerate, depending on the fat content of an individual. After a cooling period, bone is then pulverized to dust with some slight fragmentation, by the use of a cremulator. The chances of a tooth surviving this process are slim. (Buckley)
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Fortunately, most cremains have a medallion inside the receptacle to help in the identification process should they ever be misplaced or lost in a disaster. (Keck) These medallions are fire-resistant.
Once the cremains have been located, processed and identified they are returned to their loved ones.
Joanne Goodsell, an archaeologist and Cultural Resources Regional Technical Specialist for the US Army Corps of Engineers was among those who assisted in the recovery process. In an interview on the USACE website, Goodsell said that they had approximately a 70% success rate of locating remains to return to their families (Bruton).
In a closing question, I asked Westwood if there was anything else I should know about the work that goes into the work of being an archaeologist who identifies human remains. ”It requires not only professional expertise and compliance with state law, but also a sense of compassion - these bone fragments represent someone who lived, loved, and died … ” she replied. “Treating them with the highest level of respect is something their memories deserve.”
Works Cited
Boghani, Priyanka. “Camp Fire: By the Numbers”. Public Broadcasting Service. 29 October 2019.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/camp-fire-by-the-numbers/
Verzoni, Angelo. “Old & In Harm's Way”. National Fire Protection Association. 2 January 2019.
https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Publications-and-media/NFPA-Journal/2019/January-February-2019/News-and-Analysis/DispatchesBruton, J. Paul. “Corps employees help find cremains among Camp Fire debris.” US Army Corps of Engineers. USACE Sacramento District. 14 March 2019.
https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Stories/Article/1785339/corps-employees-help-find-cremains-among-camp-fire-debris/Keck, Gayle. “Recovering from the Ashes”. The Archaeological Conservancy. 7 October 2019.
https://www.archaeologicalconservancy.org/fall-2019-recovering-from-the-ashes/Westwood, Lisa. Personal Interview. 8 December 2019.
ICF, Institute for Canine Forensics
https://www.icfk9.org/Buckley, Laureen, and Victor Buckley. “Ashes to Ashes? The Archaeology of Cremation.” Archaeology Ireland, vol. 13, no. 4, 1999, pp. 24–28. JSTOR. www.jstor.org/stable/20558854.
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