GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - As the one year anniversary of the devastating Camp Fire falls upon us, we are reminded of the events that transpired that November morning, the emotions felt and the sheer destruction left in the fire’s wake.

The following is a profile on how a few are handling the anniversary and their journey towards recovery.

A bright spot, in any crowd, Lucy Love is a beacon of hope and represents the resilient spirit of the Paradise community. She describes herself as a “glass overflowing (with wine!)” kind of gal.  She relocated to Gridley shortly after losing everything to the fire and threw herself into service to her neighbors and fellow survivors at the Camp Fire Distribution Center Downtown. Volunteering has been a big part of her recovery process. Love says, “I think a lot of them feel like you’re not only volunteering, but you are going along, getting ahead with your life and think ‘Well if she can do it, I can too’, but then you have others that are still feeling raw, and hurt.”

Love shares that it’s the little things that get to her at times, leaving small patches in her memory. Like remembering how the cabinets in her kitchen were set up, missing simple items like her favorite potato peeler or repeating “Virginia’s house just caught on fire!!” three times to her daughter on the phone while escaping the blaze.

Also, she is not the only one that has experienced a little brain-fog.

Using only her first name for reasons of anonymity, Barbara, also lost everything in the fire. She remembers her evacuation process and seeing the reflection of the fire coming over the horizon, but ever since the blaze she has experienced memory loss. It has severely impacted her life. “I have withdrawn from people,” she says, because she is nervous she will stumble over words or forget mid-sentence “some days are better than others.”

Barbara shares how she is approaching her healing journey and her emotions surrounding the anniversary. Honest and raw, she shares the sentiments that many survivors will relate to but may be a little hesitant in sharing: “I just want to ignore it and hope it will go away – push it back in my mind… I think maybe when the day passes, people will stop talking about it so much. I don’t need to be reminded what happened – I know!” She continues, “I’m 80 and I don’t think that I will live long enough to get over it.”

Avalon and Rocky Glucksman’s memories of the day remain vivid. The pair bought their dream home in Paradise in June of last year, were married in October, and lost everything in November. Rocky recounts of the fire that it was “Pitch black at 8:00 in the morning - it was that dark,” and Avalon adds, “Luckily we had some extra gas from the lawn mower to put in our tank” as they made their way out of the blaze. She shares, “I saw people burning in their vehicles; I saw skeletons completely; I saw people’s flesh coming off their bones…”

Despite the horrific details of their escape, Avalon tries to remain positive and throws herself into helping others. The couple started volunteering shortly after finding stable housing and organizing donations to help other survivors. “One of the reasons why we volunteer a lot is because it keeps my mind off of everything,” she shares. At times the emotions are still very raw. As the anniversary nears, she has noticed her “anger coming out a little bit more. I’m not crying, ‘it’s not fair!’ I’m screaming into pillows because I think it’s the most constructive way to deal with it.” Her husband Rocky worries about her saying, “she doesn’t take care of herself. That’s the problem, because she is so focused on everyone else,” she suffers.

Rocky, a Vietnam veteran, feels that they could have it a lot worse. “What I try to do,” he says, “is don’t look at what happened, but look forward… I’ve got to keep looking forward, I can’t think of all the things I have lost because I can’t replace them…” He continues, “I don’t let it take me down – it’s not healthy.”

The Glucksmans intend to move back to Paradise once construction on their home is complete.

Survivor Ruth Nierenhausen seems to share that sentiment. She recalls her escape with her daughter Linda Wells. Linda grabbed her curlers and Ruth her medication as fiery coals were dropping from the sky around their trailer from the pine trees exploding. She lost everything in the fire – home, car and friends that scattered to the wind. She has relocated to Yuba City with other family members that also lost everything in the fire. Her daughter Alice Thompson says that her mother “holds everything in,” and Ruth agrees, “I try not to get too emotional.” But she is reminded daily of the disaster when she goes to reach for something, finding it not there because it was claimed by the blaze. Despite everything, Ruth stays strong. She says, “My mother always told me, you can’t cry over spilled milk.”