For these California fire survivors, hope grows amid the ashes of Paradise

PARADISE, Calif. - Inside the Brennans' house on the northern edge of town, it's almost as if the fire never happened.

There's electricity, filtered water and satellite TV. The mail comes every day but Sunday, and the garbage is picked up every week.

But when family members look out the window at a neighborhood of charred rubble and twisted metal, they're sometimes overcome by a profound loneliness.

"I feel like I've been left behind," said Elaine Brennan.

Months after California's most devastating wildfire killed 85 people and leveled the town of Paradise, many former residents find the thought of returning here unbearable. But others, whose homes escaped destruction, have come back to a life of surreal contrasts.

Neighborhoods devoid of residents now bustle with the activity of workers felling blackened trees, hauling away debris and replacing downed power lines. In the town's commercial district, businesses have reopened, but residents are surprised to encounter other shoppers amid deserted