California burning: 9 dead, Paradise lost
At least 157,000 flee homes as raging fire sweeps north
Apowerful wildfire in Northern California incinerated most of a town of about 30,000 people with flames that moved so fast there was nothing firefighters could do, authorities said yesterday. Nine people were confirmed dead by yesterday night, including five found in their burned-out vehicles.
Only a day after it began, the blaze near the town of Paradise had grown to nearly 280sq km, and was burning out of control.
“There was really no firefight involved,” Captain Scott McLean of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said, explaining that crews gave up attacking the flames and instead helped people get out alive.
“These firefighters were in the rescue mode all day yesterday.”
With fires also burning in Southern California, state officials put the total number of people forced from their homes at 157,000. Evacuation orders included the entire city of Malibu, which is home to 13,000, among them some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds for Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
When Paradise was evacuated, the order set off a desperate exodus in which many motorists got stuck in gridlock and abandoned vehicles to flee on foot.
People reported seeing much of the community go up in flames, including homes, supermarkets, businesses, restaurants, schools and a retirement centre.
“It was just a wall of fire on each side of us, and we could hardly see the road in front of us,” police officer Mark Bass said.
Rural areas fared little better. Many homes have propane tanks that were exploding amid the flames.
“They were going off like bombs,” said Karen Auday, who escaped to a nearby town.
McLean estimated the lost buildings numbered in the thousands in Paradise, about 290km northeast of San Francisco.
“Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed. It’s that kind of devastation.”
The cause of the fire is still not known. The massive blaze spread north yesterday, prompting officials to order the evacuation of Stirling City and Inskip, two communities north of Paradise along the Sierra Nevada foothills.
The wind-driven flames also spread to the west and reached Chico, a city of 90,000 people. Firefighters were able to stop the fire at the edge of the city.