Two California Town Agencies Tap Bond Reserves After Deadly Fire

Two public authorities in a small northern California town that was mostly destroyed by a deadly wildfire in 2018 had to draw on reserve funds to make bond payments this month because the disaster has led to a decline in tax revenue backing the debt.

The Paradise Redevelopment Agency and its successor agency both had to tap reserve funds to make June 1 payments to bondholders on debt sold for a mixed use development space, according to regulatory filings.

The Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive in California’s history, killed 85 people and destroyed more than 18,000 ...