"Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed. McLean estimated that the lost buildings numbered in the thousands. People reported seeing much of the community go up in flames, including homes, supermarkets, businesses, restaurants, schools and a retirement center. The entire town was ordered evacuated, setting off a desperate exodus in which many motorists got struck in gridlocked traffic and abandoned their vehicles to flee on foot. Within three hours, it had torn through 5,000 acres and reached Paradise, a town of about 27,000 residents. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency. and spread at a terrifying pace, leading acting Gov. The blaze started in the Feather River Canyon on the western edge of the Plumas National Forest at 6:30 a.m. "These firefighters were in the rescue mode all day yesterday." Scott McLean of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, explaining that crews gave up attacking the flames and instead helped people evacuate. "There was really no firefight involved," said Capt. Over 52,000 people have fled their homes. More than 113,000 acres have been scorched and an estimated 7,000 structures destroyed. Twenty-five percent of the blaze was contained as of Monday morning. Some of the victims were found in burned vehicles. So far, the wildfire has killed 29 people. MORE: Toxic wildfire smoke suffocates Bay Area: 'Any relief is going to be minimal' Firefighters for the most part were just kind of letting it happen because the wind was blowing flames everywhere, and it was unstoppable." "Yesterday, pretty much the entire town of Paradise was on fire. Despite warnings about ongoing wildfire vulnerability, hundreds of. "This thing went crazy," said Josh Edelson, a photojournalist who captured the fire from the frontlines. Paradise’s middle-class fire victims have, for the most part, been able to move out of emergency mode and rebuild their lives.
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