Tens of thousands of people have fled a fast-moving wildfire in northern California, some clutching babies and pets as they struck out on foot ahead of the flames that forced the evacua
By Associated Press Reporters
November 9 2018 2:40 AM
Tens of thousands of people have fled a fast-moving wildfire in northern California, some clutching babies and pets as they struck out on foot ahead of the flames that forced the evacuation of an entire town and destroyed hundreds of structures.
Everyone in Paradise, a community of 27,000 people about 180 miles north-east 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,” Ms Oviedo said. “People started getting out of their vehicles and running.”
UPDATE: The Evacuation Warning for Hwy 32 at Nople Avenue down to the Chico City Limits HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ORDER. This still does not include the City of Chico. #ButteSheriff #CampFire
At a late afternoon news conference, Mr Read said he had reports of several hundred destroyed structures in Paradise, but he cautioned that officials had not been able to assess yet.
He said officials will not have an exact count until they can get into the area.
“It’s a very dangerous and very serious situation,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said.
“I’m driving through fire as we speak. We’re doing everything we can to get people out of the affected areas.”
The blaze erupted as windy weather swept the state, creating extreme fire danger.
A wind-whipped fire north of Los Angeles in Ventura County burned some 15,000 acres and at least one home in a matter of hours.
It prompted evacuations of a mobile home park, a state university campus and a small community. A nearby blaze was smaller at less than 1,000 acres but moving quickly.
Acting California governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the Northern California fire-stricken area.
Shari Bernacett said her husband tried to get people to leave the Paradise mobile home park they manage.
He “knocked on doors, yelled and screamed” to alert as many residents as possible, Ms Bernacett said.
“My husband tried his best to get everybody out. The whole hill’s on fire. God help us!” she said before breaking down crying.
She and her husband grabbed their dog, jumped in their pick-up truck and drove through flames before getting to safety, she said.
Officials were sending as many firefighters as they could, Cal Fire spokesman Rick Carhart said.
“Every engine that we could put on the fire is on the fire right now, and more are coming,” he said.
“There are dozens of strike teams that we’re bringing in from all parts of the state.”
The sheriff confirmed reports that evacuees had to abandon their vehicles. He said rescuers were trying to put them in other vehicles.
“We’re working very hard to get people out. The message I want to get out is: If you can evacuate, you need to evacuate,” Mr Honea said.
A number of #wildfires started across #California on Thursday and unfortunately the outlook for Friday ranges from Elevated to Extreme. The combination of unseasonably warm conditions, dry fuels and low humidity with gusty offshore winds are creating very dangerous conditions. pic.twitter.com/hoL7pBJl2u
The wildfire was reported around daybreak. Within six hours, it had grown to more than 26 square miles.
Thick gray smoke and ash filled the sky above Paradise and could be seen from miles away.
Fire officials said the flames were being fuelled by winds, low humidity, dry air and severely parched brush and ground from months without rain.
“Basically, we haven’t had rain since last May or before that,” said Mr Read, the fire chief. “Everything is a very receptive fuel bed. It’s a rapid rate of spread.”
At the hospital in Paradise, more than 60 patients were evacuated to other facilities, some buildings caught fire and were damaged, but the main facility, Adventist Health Feather River Hospital, was not, spokeswoman Jill Kinney said.
Some of the patients were initially turned around during their evacuation because of gridlocked traffic and later airlifted to other hospitals, along with some staff, Ms Kinney said.
Four hospital employees were briefly trapped in the basement and rescued by California Highway Patrol officers, Ms Kinney said.
The National Weather Service issued red-flag warnings for fire dangers in many areas of the state, saying low humidity and strong winds were expected to continue through Friday evening.
Press Association
By Alys Key, Press Association City Reporter UK economic growth is expected to have risen in the third quarter, but analysts warned of a drop in output towards the end of the summer.
By Associated Press Reporter The Trump administration has said it will deny asylum to migrants who enter the country illegally, invoking extraordinary presidential national security powers to tighten the border as caravans of…
James Macharia Around 400 buffalo drowned after stampeding into the Chobe River along the border between Botswana and Namibia, possibly while running away from lions.
The Trump administration has said it will deny asylum to migrants who enter the…
Around 400 buffalo drowned after stampeding into the Chobe River along the border…
Twelve people including a sheriff’s sergeant were killed in a mass shooting inside a crowded southern California bar by…
A Dutch pensioner has begun a legal battle to be recognised as being 20 years younger…
Houthi rebel fighters have taken up positions on the…
House Democrats are prepared to open multiple…
A Flybe flight plummeted 500ft in 18 seconds after an incorrect autopilot setting…
Moscow has named a square after Kim Philby, the British…
A Christian woman spared the death sentence after her blasphemy…
Republicans and Democrats have warned US President Donald Trump against…
Sheriff Geoff Dean of Ventura County…
Thirteen people have died, including a…
Eyewitness footage by Trenise Burns (27)…
Police and emergency services have arrived a the scene of a mass…
US attorney general Jeff Sessions has resigned…
US President Donald Trump called a CNN…
The US has voted in midterm elections billed by some as among the most…
Donald Trump has hailed the Republicans’…
Louisiana man films a large and menacing…
Oprah, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Lopez are…
