It's been five years since a sudden shift in the wind brought the North Complex fire roaring up a remote canyon into the pines of Berry Creek, where it incinerated almost all of the more than 1,500 houses in the area and killed 16 people. But to many of the hundreds of people who remain in the mountain hamlet in Butte County, the blaze that burned through their homes and
Low birth rates, aging residents, and evolving or shuttering industries pair with a trend of younger people migrating to metro areas for jobs and more diverse cultural amenities. As of 2022, the U.S. Census bureau estimates there are more than 15 million abandoned houses around the country, which have been left for myriad reasons ranging from foreclosures to structural issues to the death of inhabitants with no one else able or willing to shoulder the responsibility of a home and its furnishings.