Asheville Filmmakers Connect Wildfire Documentary to Local Disaster
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Asheville Filmmakers Connect Wildfire Documentary to Local Disaster
- Asheville-based filmmakers Erin Brethauer and Tim Hussin directed "Stray Embers," a documentary focusing on the aftermath of the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, which destroyed 18,000 structures and killed 85 people.
- The film follows Brad Weldon, a Paradise resident who saved his home and then sheltered over 20 displaced neighbors, and will have its Asheville premiere on September 22, 2026, coinciding with the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene impacting Western North Carolina.
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Asheville filmmakers Erin Brethauer and Tim Hussin are bringing their documentary, “Stray Embers,” to Asheville, a film that chronicles the long-term recovery of a community devastated by wildfire. The documentary centers on Brad Weldon, a fifth-generation resident of Paradise, California, who successfully defended his home from the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California’s history. After saving his property, Weldon opened his home to more than 20 displaced friends, family, and neighbors, creating a communal living situation that the film follows for five tumultuous years.
Brethauer and Hussin, co-directors and cinematographers for the film, were living in San Francisco when the Camp Fire occurred, and the smoke from the distant fire reached them. They began documenting the aftermath shortly after the fire, which destroyed 153,336 acres and 18,000 structures, and claimed 85 lives. Their film explores themes of resilience, community, and the ongoing climate crisis, capturing the tension between staying rooted in a vulnerable place and the instinct to retreat. “Stray Embers” showcases how residents rebuild, forge new rituals, and navigate the emotional and practical challenges of long-term recovery.
The Asheville premiere of “Stray Embers” on September 22, 2026, holds particular significance for the filmmakers. After moving back to Asheville, Brethauer and Hussin experienced their own climate-related disaster when Hurricane Helene impacted Western North Carolina in September 2024. This personal experience has led Brethauer to develop a new film about the flood, incorporating insights gained from her time documenting the Paradise recovery. The filmmakers note that “Stray Embers” portrays the “messy middle of recovery,” a period beyond the immediate crisis where communities grapple with the long-term grind of rebuilding.