Climate change presents itself in various ways across these United States. Devastating hurricanes, droughts, blizzards, and floods are pummeling communities from coast to coast, and it’s horrifying to see the carnage. The wildfires that challenge the West Coast are no less heartbreaking. Twitter users are sharing shocking footage and images from Paradise, CA, a sleepy mountain town of nearly 27,000 people and 11,700 acres that has been obliterated from the map, leaving five dead so far, with additional deaths being investigated.
Just 80-ish miles due north of Sacramento, the city of Paradise is gone, thanks to what Cal Fire is calling the Camp Fire. The fire, which began early in the morning of November 8, is just 5 percent contained, and has already burned through 70,000 acres in Butte County as of this writing.
And it’s still spreading.
At least 40,000 residents were forced to evacuate in Butte County after the fire broke out early Thursday, "growing uncontrollably" at a rate of about 80 football fields per minute.
ABC7 merged scanner radio with video footage to paint a particularly horrifying picture of what Paradise residents and first responders faced as the fast-growing fire took over.
A quick search on Twitter reveals a seemingly endless stream of terrifying and heartbreaking posts, either showing the carnage or highlighting the desperate search for loved ones.
This before-and-after image of the location of Paradise’s Black Bear Diner, a California favorite, offers a glimpse of the devastation.
The local McDonald’s is also gone.
This video shows the dangerously hot horrors that folks face as they try to evacuate.
This video shows the aftermath of those same traffic jams.
It’s truly horrific. I feel like I keep using that word, but the shoe fits.
The fire is huge, but Paradise seems to be taking the brunt of the blaze.
No words for this.
If you don’t live in fire country, it’s hard to imagine what fire season—which seems increasingly longer and omnipresent to us Californians—is like.
But it looks like this—like hell.
As if the Camp Fire wasn’t bad enough, two more major fires have taken solid holds in Southern California: the Hill Fire and the Woolsey Fire.
The Hill Fire, which, as of this writing, has consumed over 6,000 acres and is 0 percent contained, has brought flames to Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, among other cities.
Thousand Oaks, of course, is still reeling from Wednesday night’s mass shooting that killed 12 and injured dozens.
The Hill Fire began Thursday afternoon, shocking residents and travelers in the area.
Firefighters are, as of this writing, now more focused on the Woolsey Fire, which is on track to decimate Malibu.
Driven by howling winds and dangerously low humidity, a brush fire that began in Ventura County but raced over the Los Angeles County line continued a relentless march toward the Pacific Ocean Friday, forcing thousands of people from their homes as evacuation orders were imposed for the entirety of Malibu.
The Woolsey Fire exploded to more than 10,000 acres overnight, then was estimated at 14,000 by midday Friday, with zero containment.
The photos from that fire are just as horrifying. Have you ever seen a “firenado” before?
On Friday morning, day literally turned into night as the fire grew.
Tens of thousands have been forced to evacuate.
Sadly, these aren't the only fires raging in California right now. From San Diego to Oregon, from the Pacific Ocean to Nevada, my Golden State is in flames. With Jerry Brown out of town, governor-elect Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency.
But hey, climate change is just a leftist conspiracy, right, Mr. President?
Are you or is someone you cherish in the path of a wildfire? Even if you’re not, take note of Cal Fire’s Evacuation Tips to be prepared if and when the flames end up on your doorstep.