Contractors Fired After Camp Fire Photos Spark Outrage December 17, 2018
BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. – Three contractors working to help clean up the Camp Fire were fired after offensive pictures posted online sparked outrage in the Paradise Community.
The photos were posted on Facebook showing several workers on a burned-out property, mocking the destruction they were being paid to clean up.
One photo shows the body of a cat killed in the fire, with a beer bottle placed by its mouth. The posts also included offensive captions.
A Paradise city spokesperson said that police are also looking into whether the photos show evidence of laws broken, like trespassing.
The company responsible for the crew in the photos fired three employees connected to the online posts Saturday.
“We have identified three participants in this abhorrent event and their employment has been terminated,” said Randy Smith, a member of the corporate counsel for the company. “Bigge Regrets that the residents of Paradise and Butte County have suffered an egregious insult during an already devastating time at the hands of three individuals.”
The company that fired the three employees was hired as a sub-contractor under PG&E.
The utility released a statement on the incident, calling the pictures “reprehensible.”
