Fast-moving wildfires in California destroyed thousands of structures and forced thousands of residents to flee their homes. Follow here for the latest.
Several firefighters who responded to last week’s bar shooting in Thousand Oaks, California, went straight to fight the wildfires ripping through the state, said Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Frank Lima.
“They’ve been 48 to 72 hours on shift, doing what we do. We go there, we risk our lives. Our firefighters are out there. Meanwhile many of them have lost their own homes and have been displaced, but they’re still serving the community,” Lima told CNN on Monday.
Many of the firefighters carry an “anvil of worry on their backs” with their own families in danger, he said. Whenever natural disasters happen — hurricanes, earthquakes and fires — firefighters “stay there all the way to the end even though their wives and kids — the only things on their backs that they own are their clothes,” Lima said.
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Paradise Mayor Jody Jones lost her home when the Camp Fire swept through her town last week.
Jones was running an errand when the fire broke out.
“It took a long time to get out, and there was fire on both sides of the car. You could feel the heat coming in through the car. You could see the telephone poles burning and trees and structures and flames 30 feet in the air. It was scary.”
Jones is now living in her motor home.
“That is fine for now. We have a bed and we have a roof. We’re good, but that’s not good for the long term. So yes, we’ve started looking for a more permanent place to live,” she said.
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From CNN’s Stella Chan
At least 370 structures were destroyed in the massive Woolsey Fire, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said Monday.
“I’d like to emphasize the estimated 57,000 structures are still here,” he said.
Asked about President Trump’s tweet blaming ” gross mismanagement ” for the devastating wildfires, Osby said he doesn’t want to “politicize our efforts right now.”
“I can just tell you that we are in extreme climate change right now. We don’t control the climate, we’re doing all we can to prevent incidents and mitigate incidents and save lives,” the fire chief said.
From CNN’s Stella Chan
As firefighters continued to tackle the Woolsey Fire, two small fires broke out Monday in Southern California.
The first blaze, Lynn Fire, scorched 15 acres near the 101 Freeway and threatened structures, according to Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen. Firefighters were expected to contain the fire shortly, he said.
A second blaze, the Rocky Peak Fire, broke out around 10:05 a.m. ET near the 118 Freeway. The fire burned 20 acres.
Susan Miller and her daughter, Amber Toney, recorded a video of their harrowing escape as flames from the destructive Camp Fire tore through the town of Paradise.
“I’ll have nightmares for the rest of my life,” Miller, 59, told CNN. “This was a bucket list I never wanted.”
They feared their car windows would shatter and the tires would melt from the intense heat. The mother and daughter barely made it out of the inferno.
Now the family is reeling from the loss of their home and beloved community.
“How can God take a town away that’s called Paradise,” Toney said.
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CNN’s photo team has been collecting the most compelling photos of the fires tearing through California. Take a look:
See the full gallery here.
President Trump is tweeting again about the California wildfires, and thanking the “very brave” firefighters.
Here’s what he tweeted Monday:
Why this matters: The President’s latest message comes days after his tweet blaming “gross mismanagement” for the devastating wildfires sparked backlash from top firefighters’ associations, politicians and celebrities .
In a series of tweets Saturday, Trump said the state’s deadly wildfires are a result of poor forest management and threatened to cut federal aid.
Trump’s first tweet drew the ire of the leaders of firefighters’ organizations, who accused the President of bringing politics into a devastating disaster.
The president of the California Professional Firefighters said the message is an attack on some of the people fighting the devastating fires.
“The President’s message attacking California and threatening to withhold aid to the victims of the cataclysmic fires is ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines,” Brian K. Rice said.
Malibu Mayor Rick Mullen has been in the thick of the firefight since Thursday.
As the Woolsey Fire swept through parts of Malibu, Mullen, an 18-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, worked alongside fellow firefighters to tackle the flames.
The initial firefight, he said, was intense.
“It’s calmer now all over than it was when the fire came through,” he told CNN on Monday. “So everyone is getting a little bit of a breather, but still a lot of people have been on the job for quite a while.”
Mullen described the Woolsey Fire as the largest fire he had ever seen in his life.
“There are people who are going to feel very relieved that their house made it and people who are devastated that their house didn’t make it. We’re all going to come together because Malibu is a team, and team Malibu will ride again,” he said.
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From CNN’s Brandon Miller
Here are some of the latest statistics from the California fires:
In the last four days, more than 200,000 acres (or more than 310 square miles) have burned in California. That is slightly larger than all 5 boroughs of New York City.
Here are some of the latest statistics from the California fires:
