Cotopaxi National Park

  A national park primarily known for its volcano, located in the Province of Cotopaxi, Ecuador.

• The highest active volcano in the world, located in the Andes in central Ecuador. Its name is Quechuan and means “shining peak.”

• One of the popular tourist activities in Cotopaxi National Park is climbing to the summit of Cotopaxi Volcano

• Cotopaxi volcano is part of the chain of volcanoes around the Pacific plate that is commonly known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. Its last eruption was in 2015 which caused the neighboring towns major damage leaving the park closed for almost 3 years.

• There are estimated to be about 200 different plant species found in Cotopaxi National Park. 

• There are several vegetation zones to the park because of the varying elevations.

• National Park include foxes, bears, pumas, wolves, wild horses, condors, and rabbits

• Fun fact, you can actually see Ecuador's national bird in this park

Camp Fire (California's deadliest wildfire)

The Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history. The fire began Thursday, November 8, 2018 at the Camp Creek Road and was finally contained on November 25, 2018. The cause of the fire was a 100-year-old electrical transmission line owned by Pacific Gas and Electric. High temperatures, gusty winds and parched vegetation contributed to its rapid spread.

 The fire burned 153,336 acres of land.The fire destroyed 18,804 structures, with most of the destruction happening in the first 4 hours of the fire. The towns of Paradise and Concow were almost completely destroyed, each losing about 95% of their structures. The fire killed 85 people and 12 civilians and 5 firefighters were injured. The Camp Fire cost a total of $16.65 billion, $16.5 billion in damage and $150 million in fire suppression cost. 

 Pacific Gas and Electric the company responsible for the fire plead guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter and one count of illegally setting a fire. The company estimated its wildfire liability at $30 billion, much of it for the Camp Fire. PG&E has pledged to improve its practices and reduce the risk of fires by, trimming and cutting trees along its power lines.The company will pay $13.5 billion to those who lost their homes and businesses. 

 Cities like Paradise have slowly but surely start to recover because of the fire. The task now is to remove the hundreds of dead and dying trees, and then follow the guidelines of the town’s priorities laid out by its long-term recovery plan. The town of Paradise is on a steady path to rebuilding the city but plans have been postponed because of COVID-19. But this has not stopped them from rebuilding their city, residents live in RV’s and work everyday so that they may be able to live again in a place they once called home.