Not a single resident of Paradise, California, can be seen anywhere in town after most of them fled the Northern California community that may be lost forever. Most of the town’s buildings are in ruin. Entire neighborhoods are leveled. The business district is destroyed, reports CBS News Saturday morning.
In a single day, the Sierra Nevada foothill town of 27,000 was largely incinerated by flames that moved so fast there was nothing firefighters could do. Only a day after the “Camp Fire” began, the blaze had destroyed more than 6,700 structures, almost all of them homes – making it California’s most destructive wildfire since record-keeping began.
Authorities said at least nine people were killed by the “Camp Fire,” which as of Saturday morning was 20 percent contained. It is one of three major blazes that firefighters are battling across the state.
In Southern California, the 35,000-acre “Woolsey Fire” was 0% contained early Saturday. It has forced more than 200,000 evacuations. The “Hill Fire” was holding at 6,000 acres.
CAMP FIRE update as of 10 a.m. ET:
– Size: 100,000
– Containment: 20 percent
– Civilian Fatalities: 9 (via @ButteSheriff)
– Firefighter Injuries: 3
– Structures Threatened: 15,000
– Single Residences Destroyed: 6,453
– Commercial Structures Destroyed: 260
A Red Flag Warning denoting a high risk of wildfire has been extended in California until Tuesday, CBS Los Angeles reports.
The National Weather Service Sacramento said “critical fire weather conditions” are expected across Northern California Saturday night to Monday morning “due to strong winds & dry conditions.”
The Woolsey Fire and smaller Hill blaze have destroyed more than 150 homes and prompted evacuation orders for about 250,000 people from Thousand Oaks northwest of Los Angeles to Malibu.
This fire was SO bad (and still is) that even looters have stayed away.