#21, West Sacramento dump truck company helps Paradise cleanup (video)

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Maricela and Adam Fry, husband and wife, own Big Country Restoration and Transport in West Sacramento. They own three massive dump trucks and have one of many contracts to help the cleanup of The Camp Fire in Paradise, California.

Not too long ago, I overheard a conversation in a Starbucks in Sacramento. The barista asked the woman in front of me what she does for a living. The response: “My husband and I own a dump truck.”

I asked Maricela for her card and recently called her. The result: Adam Fry and his crew from Big Country Restoration and Transport in West Sacramento are part of the massive cleanup project from the devastating Paradise last November.

Adam is our guest on this episode of The Weekly Drive Podcast. The fire started in Paradise on Nov. 9 2018 and was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history.

It was also the deadliest wildfire in the United States since the Cloquet fire in 1918. The fire covered 153,336 acres. More than 18,000 buildings were destroyed and at least 85 people died.

Fry discusses with co-hosts James Raia and Bruce Aldrich what his crews are doing in the cleanup. He repeatedly states the top priority of the project is safety. He also discusses at length the stress the workers on hundreds of trucks have endured. He talks openly about companies on the project that have not adhered to rules.

Although it’s been about eight months since the fire, Paradise remains a disaster area. Fry notes phase 1 of the cleanup and restoration may be completed in October. He talks about animal remains his crews have discovered and how the aftermath of the tragedy remains raw and complicated.