While many of us have been focused on other horrific news, as Blue Aardvark posted here, Paradise, a community of about 27,000, and just a few minutes east of my home town of Chico, is basically gone.
2,000 firefighters on Friday were racing to stop the explosive growth of the Camp fire in Northern California, which spread to 70,000 acres overnight and has destroyed about 2,000 homes and buildings across parts of Butte County.
The fire advanced at a rate of 80 acres per minute. People had no time to prepare, they just drove en masse down the Skyway. Surrounded by flames on both sides, many, including law enforcement, had to abandon their cars on the road when traffic jammed and were forced to run on foot down toward Chico. Burned out cars had to be bulldozed off the road so fire trucks and other emergency vehicles could gain access.
My friend, Jim, told me Chico was overwhelmed with shell shocked refugees, many ending up in the parking lot of a Raley’s Market with nothing but the clothes on their backs. These may be the lucky ones, as many are missing and multiple deaths are now being reported. Another friend, Mark, had to be evacuated from Feather River Hospital where he works, just ahead of the flames. He said with fire on both sides of the road the smoke was so thick they could hardly see and he felt lucky to have got out alive. He described the sounds of home propane tanks exploding all around. Apparently the hospital evacuation was heroic. The hospital has been mostly burned to the ground. He said some people were burned to death in their cars. Patients were taken to Enloe Hospital in Chico and Oroville Hospital. Some were flown out depending on triage. My brother is a counselor for a residential youth facility which had to be evacuated. He said they got everyone out in time, although the campus is gone now.
"We were surrounded by fire, we were driving through fire on each side of the road," said police officer Mark Bass, who lives in the hard-hit town of Paradise and works in neighboring Chico. He evacuated his family and then returned to the fire to help rescue several disabled residents, including a man trying to carry his bedridden wife to safety. "It was just a wall of fire on each side of us, and we could hardly see the road in front of us." Harrowing tales of escape and heroic rescues emerged from Paradise, where the entire community of 27,000 was ordered to evacuate. Witnesses reported seeing homes, supermarkets, businesses, restaurants, schools and a retirement home up in flames.
"We were surrounded by fire, we were driving through fire on each side of the road," said police officer Mark Bass, who lives in the hard-hit town of Paradise and works in neighboring Chico. He evacuated his family and then returned to the fire to help rescue several disabled residents, including a man trying to carry his bedridden wife to safety. "It was just a wall of fire on each side of us, and we could hardly see the road in front of us."
Harrowing tales of escape and heroic rescues emerged from Paradise, where the entire community of 27,000 was ordered to evacuate. Witnesses reported seeing homes, supermarkets, businesses, restaurants, schools and a retirement home up in flames.
One friend who lives in Woodland, told me her relatives got out with their lives but lost their home, including their dogs.
The historic Honey Run Bridge on Butte Creek was destroyed and parts of eastern Chico were evacuated Thursday. So far, firefighters have been able to prevent the blaze from reaching the city of about 90,000 people but the fire continued to burn Friday and the sky is an apocalyptic shade of orange.
Conditions in Paradise remain too unstable to do a door-to-door search, according to Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea. But law-enforcement are recovering bodies “with as much dignity as we can afford them,” he said.
Today, firefighters are still finding people who had stayed behind while thousands around them have fled. Some bodies have been found burned to death in their cars.
Those looking for loved ones can check with safeandwell.org or contact the Sheriff's Office at 530-538-7322 to request a welfare check or file a missing person report.
++ OPEN: Butte County Fairgrounds (199 E Hazel St, Gridley, CA 95948)
++ OPEN: Yuba-Sutter Fairground (442 Franklin Ave, Yuba City, CA 95991)
++ OPEN: Glenn County Fairgrounds (221 E Yolo St, Orland, CA 95963)
++ OPEN: Chester Memorial Hall (22 Gay Street, Chester)
++ THIS SHELTER IS FULL: Chico Elks Club (1705 Manzanita, Chico)
++ THIS SHELTER IS FULL: Oroville Nazarene Church (2238 Monte Vista Ave, Oroville, CA 95966)
++ THIS SHELTER IS FULL - Neighborhood Church (2801 Notre Dame Blvd, Chico, CA 95928)
Butte County officials are asking evacuees to register with the Red Cross Safe & Well website. Concerned family and friends can also search for evacuees on the site through "Search Registrants."
ABC News is reporting that over 6,000 structures have been destroyed and nine people confirmed dead. Both figures are likely to grow.
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