Overview

• Apple TV+ began streaming The Lost Bus on October 3, following its festival and theatrical rollout.
• The film adapts Lizzie Johnson’s 2021 nonfiction book Paradise about the 2018 Camp Fire.
• Coverage identifies bus driver Kevin McKay and teacher Mary Ludwig as central real figures, recounting McKay tearing his shirt to make wet cloths and Ludwig comforting students.
• Articles note dispatcher Ruby Hartwig as the basis for the character Ruby and say Cal Fire official Ray Martinez is a fictional creation likely inspired by chief John Messina.
• Teacher Abbie Davis, who was on the bus, chose not to be depicted in the film but previously shared her account in the 2019 short Fire in Paradise.