Family mourns death of father from Paradise | News

PARADISE, California. – Action News Now learns more about 86-year-old Gene Woodcox, who died when his tractor fell on him in Paradise.

We reported on the accident a few weeks ago. On Tuesday we spoke to Shelley Hart and Courtney Woodcox, who are mourning the death of their father.

“My parents didn’t want to follow the law or the regulations, but it was just too difficult,” Shelley said.

Woodcox died on August 16 when the tractor he was using to clear debris from his property fell on him and killed him.

“We wouldn't have any problems if he was on the tractor. He moved it, did that; he was always on the thing,” Courtney said.

Gene owned his 10-acre property in Paradise since 1973 and lived there until it burned down in the Camp Fire in 2018.

Over the past year, Gene has received several notices from Butte County saying he must vacate his property or risk a nuisance cleanup, meaning the county would come and clean it for him, but would bill him for it.

“It's definitely something we're evaluating. What do we do about it? We're not really sure, I think,” Shelley said.

We reached out to Butte County's Code Enforcement Team for more information on their procedures for removing public nuisances. Chapter 32a-5 states that if the county finds a public nuisance, it will require the nuisance to be remedied within 72 hours. If the conditions continue beyond 72 hours, a hearing may be scheduled on the matter.

According to Doug Teeter, district manager for Butte County's 5th District, there are currently no options available for residents to clear their property unless they do it themselves or pay the district to do so as part of a nuisance cleanup.

“The building code enforcement officer was very kind. Because that was obviously a concern. What should we do now? Do we still need to be concerned about these actions being taken? And he made them pause to emphasize that part,” Shelley said.

Individuals may be able to apply to the Butte County Safe Fire Council for financial assistance for things like property clearance.

However, the Council does not currently have the resources to deal with a situation such as that of the Woodcox family.

“I'm convinced that maybe we can meet with the supervisors or whoever and work out a direction, a way to offer this with grants or whatever it looks like to provide a service that somehow helps people like Dad,” Courtney said.