No. It was communist.
The society itself was not communist, but It was definitely ruled by communists. Even Marx called himself and the people who followed his ideas communists, not “socialists seeking communism.” When people say a country was/is “communist,” they mean it’s being ruled by Marxist-Leninists, not that it’s achieved the hypothetical level of society that usually only Marxists are familiar with.
Having personally experienced a wildfire almost the exact same as this, I really really hope the people of this town can get some accountability, my town barely hit national news and got zero accountability for the failures of the city government.