Paradise turns to Hell as Camp Fire moves through
Tens of thousands of people fled a fast-moving wildfire yesterday in Northern California, some clutching babies and pets as they abandoned vehicles and struck out on foot ahead of the Camp Fire flames that forced the evacuation of an entire town and destroyed hundreds of structures.
Everyone in Paradise, a community of 27,000 people about 290 kilometres northeast of San Francisco, was ordered to get out. The extent of the injuries and damage was not immediately known. Butte County CalFire Chief Darren Read said at a news conference that two firefighters and multiple residents were injured.
As she fled, Gina Oviedo described a devastating scene in which flames engulfed homes, sparked explosions and toppled utility poles.
‘‘Things started exploding,’’ Oviedo said. ‘‘People started getting out of their vehicles and running.’’
At a late afternoon news conference, Read said he had reports of several hundred destroyed structures in Paradise, but he cautioned that officials had not been able to assess yet.
Officials won’t have an exact count until they can get into the area, he said. An Associated Press photographer saw dozens of businesses and homes levelled or in flames, including a liquor store and gas station. –AP A lawsuit by a group of young Americans against the US government for being slow to address climate change is on hold again, after a federal appeals court granted the Trump administration’s motion for a temporary stay. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in granting the temporary stay yesterday, gave 15 days for the parties to respond to the administrations petition for a writ of mandamus — a rarely used judicial appeal that asks a higher court to overrule a lower one before the conclusion of a case. –AP