Wildfires Rage Across Northern California And Thousand Oaks

The Thousand Oaks community is still reeling from a mass shooting one day earlier.
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A series of wildfires continued their tear through California on Friday, encroaching upon an area still reeling from a mass shooting that struck the community of Thousand Oaks just one day earlier.

A set of brushfires lashed Ventura County, prompting mandatory evacuations across Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The two blazes ranged from 2,000 to 10,000 acres, according to Cal Fire. Authorities shut down part of the 101 Freeway as plumes of smoke cascaded into the air on Thursday.

At least 30 homes had already erupted in flames in the area by early Friday, KTLA reported.

“The first part of this fuel bed had not seen fire for many years. Drought-stricken fuels, Santa Ana wind conditions, low relative humidity, high temperatures: it’s a recipe for fire,” said Ventura County Fire Department Assistant Chief Chad Cook.

A local Thousand Oaks teen center turned into an evacuation center overnight, after being used the night before as a family reunification center in the wake of the massacre at the city’s Borderline Bar & Grill.

And a fast-moving wildfire that ravaged a Northern California town Thursday sent residents racing to escape on roads that turned into tunnels of fire as thick smoke darkened the daytime sky, wiping out what a Cal Fire official said was a couple of thousand structures.

“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.

A car explodes into flames as the Camp fire tears through downtown Paradise, California on Nov. 8.
A car explodes into flames as the Camp fire tears through downtown Paradise, California on Nov. 8.
JOSH EDELSON via Getty Images

“Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed, it’s that kind of devastation,” said Cal Fire Capt. Scott McLean late Thursday. He estimated that a couple of thousand structures were destroyed in the town about 180 miles (290 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.

The fire was reported shortly after daybreak in a rural area. By nightfall, it had consumed more than 28 square miles (73 square kilometers) and firefighters had no containment on the blaze, McLean said.

In the midst of the chaos, officials said they could not provide figures on the number of wounded, but County Cal Fire Chief Darren Read said at a news conference that at least two firefighters and multiple residents were injured.

“It’s a very dangerous and very serious situation,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said. “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.” Several evacuation centers were set up in nearby towns.

Residents described fleeing their homes and then getting stuck on gridlocked roads as flames approached, sparking explosions and toppling utility poles.

“Things started exploding,” said resident Gina Oviedo. “People started getting out of their vehicles and running.”

Many abandoned their cars on the side of the road, fleeing on foot. Cars and trucks, some with trailers attached, were left on the roadside as evacuees ran for their lives, said Bass, the police officer. “They were abandoned because traffic was so bad, backed up for hours.”

Thick gray smoke and ash filled the sky above Paradise and could be seen from miles away.

“It was absolutely dark,” said resident Mike Molloy, who said he made a split decision based on the wind to leave Thursday morning, packing only the minimum and joining a sea of other vehicles.

Juanita McLish sits on a curb after she and her husband lost their home in the Campfire blaze raging through Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 8.
Juanita McLish sits on a curb after she and her husband lost their home in the Campfire blaze raging through Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 8.
Digital First Media/The Mercury News via Getty Images via Getty Images

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, Kinney said.

Four hospital employees were briefly trapped in the basement and rescued by California Highway Patrol officers, Kinney said.

Concerned friends and family posted frantic messages on Twitter and other sites saying they were looking for loved ones, particularly seniors who lived at retirement homes or alone.

Chico police officer John Barker and his partner evacuated several seniors from an apartment complex.

“Most of them were immobile with walkers, or spouses that were bed-ridden, so we were trying to get additional units to come and try and help us, just taking as many as we could,” he said, describing the community as having “a lot of elderly, a lot of immobile people, some low-income with no vehicles.”

Kelly Lee called shelters looking for her husband’s 93-year-old grandmother, Dorothy Herrera, who was last heard from on Thursday morning. Herrera, who lives in Paradise with her 88-year-old husband Lou Herrera, left a frantic voicemail at around 9:30 a.m. saying they needed to get out.

“We never heard from them again,” Lee said. “We’re worried sick ... They do have a car, but they both are older and can be confused at times.”

Acting California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the area and requested a federal emergency declaration, saying that high winds and dry brush presented ongoing danger.

A wildfire comes down from a hilltop near Newbury Park, Calif., on Nov. 8.
A wildfire comes down from a hilltop near Newbury Park, Calif., on Nov. 8.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Fire officials said the flames were fueled by winds, low humidity, dry air and severely parched brush and ground from months without rain.

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 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.

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