Here’s what The Lost Bus left out from the real-life disaster – including what happened next

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He’s experienced confusion and wonder, played a dedicated detective, and even ventured into space. Now, for his newest project, Matthew “alright, alright, alright” McConaughey is portraying a bus driver. But this isn’t an ordinary role. In The Lost Bus, McConaughey plays Kevin McKay, a 41-year-old driver who heroically saved 22 students during the devastating Camp Fire in California around 2018.

Director Paul Greengrass and his team largely based their work on Lizzie Johnson’s 2021 book, Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire. This non-fiction account provides a complete picture of the wildfire and its impact, covering everything from how it started to the aftermath.

Naturally, when a true story becomes a big-screen movie, some details are altered or left out. So let’s dive deeper and discover what The Lost Bus actually portrays-and what happened both during and after those events.

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The Lost Bus true story

The most fatal wildfire in California’s history started on November 8, 2018. It began with an equipment failure on a power line owned by PG&E in Butte County, Northern California. Because the weather was dry and winds were very strong, the fire spread rapidly, resulting in 85 deaths and forcing 50,000 people to leave their homes.

A chapter in Johnson’s book tells the story of McKay, a bus driver who bravely rescued 22 students from Ponderosa Elementary using his bus. During the actual event, he was assisted by two teachers: 50-year-old Mary Ludwig and 29-year-old Abbie Davis. However, Davis chose not to participate and was therefore not included in the book, The Lost Bus.

During a conversation with NPR, Johnson shared that McKay had only been driving a bus for a short time when the fire broke out:

He spent many years working at Walgreens. It provided him with a secure and reliable income. However, he always had a feeling he wanted to pursue something different. Eventually, he left his comfortable, well-paid position and took a job driving a bus for the school district in Paradise. He did this to save money while he returned to college to earn a degree in teaching.

Watching the film, I was really worried about McKay’s family, but it turns out they were all safe! They’d actually evacuated to a city called Chico that morning, before the fire really took hold. As CBS reported later, that let McKay really concentrate on dealing with the terrifying situation unfolding around him. He said it freed him up to focus completely on everything.

To truly show how terrifying and powerful the fire was, Greengrass treated it like a character with its own perspective – similar to how Steven Spielberg portrayed the shark in the iconic film Jaws.

I told my editor, Goldenberg, ‘This movie really needs a central threat, something like the shark in Jaws. We need to give the fire a personality,'” Greengrass explained to Time. “That’s why I focused on shots of the fire moving-to make you feel how relentlessly it consumed everything, and then to show its creeping, dangerous nature at the end when the characters are cornered.”

Similar to the scene in the film, McKay ripped his shirt open when smoke began filling the bus. This allowed Ludwig and Davis to tear off pieces of wet cloth, which they then distributed to each student to help them breathe more easily through their noses and mouths.

We were coughing and my eyes were irritated. I realized we needed to take action. It was, as I recall, the best course of action given the circumstances,” McKay explained to CBS News later.

Wow, after five long hours and 30 miles, it was such a relief to see the children finally back with their families! But I’m really curious – what happened after that, once the fires were finally put out? I keep wondering about the aftermath and how everyone is doing. It was a scary time, and I want to know the full story!

What happened next after the events of The Lost Bus?

The fire, started by an old electrical line belonging to Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), resulted in 85 deaths and the destruction of over 90% of the homes in the community.

Following the devastating events, PG&E admitted guilt to 84 felony charges of involuntary manslaughter and one felony count related to illegally starting a fire. This resulted in a $13.5 billion settlement. The fire, known as the Camp Fire, was named after Camp Creek Road, the location where the disaster initially started.

In an interview with Time, Greengrass clarified his decision to not primarily center the film around PG&E and their shortcomings. He stated, “The film isn’t really *about* PG&E, although their failure to properly maintain equipment was the main reason the fire started – that’s simply what happened. It’s just a necessary detail for understanding how these fires behave.”

The Lost Bus doesn’t address the larger problems related to climate change, which made the fire worse initially and allowed it to spread so quickly and tragically.

The film only briefly touches on this idea, and it happens after the fire chief – a character brought together from multiple sources and played by Yul Vasquez – makes the difficult decision to focus on saving lives rather than stopping the fire from spreading. During a local press conference, he implies that these fires will likely become more frequent and intense due to environmental problems that society isn’t solving fast enough. He suggests we aren’t addressing the root causes quickly enough.

Time flies, and the film subtly touches on important issues without being overly preachy or forceful. While this approach works for a big-budget movie, it does somewhat downplay how serious these problems actually are. It acknowledges them, but doesn’t fully emphasize their gravity. This subtlety might not be enough for some viewers.

Paul Greengrass on The Lost Bus set

Recent data from NASA, combined with research from US Forest Service scientists, shows that fire seasons are beginning sooner in the spring and lasting longer into the fall. In many areas, these fire seasons are now over a month longer than they were 35 years ago.

It was a chilling coincidence that highlighted how pressing these problems are: the Los Angeles fires in early 2025 occurred right as we finished The Lost Bus.

Editor Billy Goldenberg had to leave work and go home,” Greengrass explained to Time. “He was almost about to lose his house, which was a really sobering experience. It made us realize that the images we create are now a permanent part of the world around us, and we’ll need to find ways to cope with situations that pose real dangers to people’s lives.

McKay continues to be affected by the disaster, as he lost his home in the fire. Although he still owns the land, he doesn’t intend to rebuild and has instead moved to the nearby town of Chici.

After seven years, McKay and Ludwig ran into each other again at the Toronto International Film Festival while attending the premiere of The Lost Bus. Davis wasn’t there, as Time magazine reported she wanted no part of the film.

McKay recently attended a screening at Feather River Cinemas with loved ones, sharing with NSPR what it felt like to see the fire depicted on screen. He explained, “It’s really strange for me, because the main story is based on my life. But I’m also a survivor of the Camp Fire, and there are so many ways I personally relate to the film.”

He went on to say: “My hope is that viewers will realize just how crucial it is for us to show compassion and be willing to help each other.”

The Lost Bus is available to watch now on Apple TV+.

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2025-10-03 19:22