The Latest: Calming winds may help in SoCal firefight
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Forecasters say the 50-mph gusts won't return until Sunday, and hard-pressed firefighters hope to use that respite to make progress in halting the spread of flames.
Even so, TV reports show homes, palm trees and even power poles erupting in flames.
The Woolsey fire and smaller Hill blaze have destroyed more than 150 homes and prompted evacuation orders for about 250,000 people from
There's no word on what sparked the fires Thursday. But winds are blamed for pushing the fire through scenic canyon communities and ridgetop homes.
The utility told state regulators Thursday that it experienced a problem on an electrical transmission line near the site of the blaze minutes before the fire broke out. The company said it later observed damage to a transmission tower on the line.
The fire has killed at least nine people and destroyed more than 6,000 homes. It forced the evacuation of roughly 30,000 people in the town of Paradise, about 180 miles (289 kilometers) northeast of
Some residents forced to flee a growing inferno in
None may have had it harder than
Loeffler, of
Minnie trotted alongside Loeffler's car on a rope for more than a mile as flames jumped the road, sirens wailed from passing rescuers and helicopters buzzed overhead.
Eventually a couple with four dogs, three horses, two parrots and a pig stopped and made room in their trailer.
Loeffler says they squished Minnie inside and drove to an evacuation center.
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All the victims were found in the town of Paradise, which was evacuated as a result of the fire.
Authorities say they conducted numerous rescues Friday as they fought the flames, including using helicopters to rescue five people in the nearby community of
The sheriff says they have taken 35 reports of missing people.
Authorities say nine people have been confirmed dead in a
He says he doesn't have all the details on the circumstances of the deaths.
Sheriff's officials earlier had reported six deaths.
Authorities say the fire burning around the town of Paradise has become the state's most destructive since record-keeping began.
This item has been clarified to show one person was found outside a vehicle.
Fire officials said Friday the destroyed structures include 6,453 homes and another 260 commercial structures. The fire is burning around the town of Paradise.
The mayor of
Mayor
Fox says the distinction between the two events is that the victims of the
So far, he says, no one has died from the fire that has burned into the city.
Fox says that the fire is serious situation, but that homes can be rebuilt.
Fire officials say
Authorities also announced Friday that a quarter of a million people are under evacuation orders as wind-whipped flames rage through scenic areas west of
At a news conference, officials said 75 percent of the
Twin fires erupted Thursday and were pushed by winds of up to 60 mph through coastal foothills and canyons.
The Hill fire has burned 6,000 acres and isn't advancing, but the Woolsey fire a few miles away doubled in size to 35,000 acres.
A sheriff's spokeswoman has confirmed a sixth death in a
Sheriff's officials said earlier that five people were found dead in vehicles that were torched by flames in the same area in the town of Paradise.
They said the five could not immediately be identified because of the burns they suffered.
Paradise is 180 miles (289 kilometers) northeast of
The money will help pay for firefighting aircraft along with shelter, supplies and transportation for the tens of thousands of evacuated residents.
The wind-whipped fires have destroyed blocks of homes in the
Other fires in
The company said in a one-paragraph summary filed Thursday with state utility regulators that it had experienced an outage on the line about 15 minutes before the fire started. The company said it later observed damage to a transmission tower on the line near the town of Paradise.
The fire has killed at least five people and destroyed hundreds of homes. Paradise is 180 miles (289 kilometers) northeast of
The filing was first reported by
Fire officials have not determined a cause for the blaze.
Paradise town councilmember
But Friday she was clinging to glimmers of hope inspired by two furry llamas — Shyann and
"Somehow they made it through," Schuster said.
She had stopped trying to hook up a trailer for the animals and fled the home and property with just three cats on Thursday when the day turned pitch black as fire and smoke roared in.
On Friday she was trying to stay positive. She'd heard her son's home and hay barn survived, along with
"It's Paradise," she said. "It's always been Paradise and we will bring it back."
Blocks and blocks of homes and businesses in a
Parts of the town of Paradise were still on fire on Friday. At least five people in the town died.
He said he lost his previous home to a wildfire in 2008.
A surgical nurse who evacuated from a
When she tried to leave, she got stuck in the firestorm.
She said firefighters extinguished her smoldering pants, covered her in a fire blanket and brought her back to the hospital, where she waited out the fire.
She said doctors extinguished burning trees around the hospital to try to keep the flames at bay.
Jolly eventually escaped the town.
Nurses and patients have recounted their dramatic escapes from a hospital in a
Nurse
Wilken said he took three patients in his car and that two of them were in critical condition. He says he battled gridlocked traffic on a road surrounded on both sides by fire.
Paradise resident
When the evacuation was announced, she was still asleep from anesthesia. He waited until she woke up and they escaped in a hospital employee's car.
The hospital says it evacuated 60 patients to other facilities.
A road into a
There were no signs of life Friday on the road toward the town of Paradise except for the occasional chirping of a bird. A thick, yellow haze from the wildfire hung in the air and gave the appearance of twilight in the middle of the day.
Strong winds had blown the blackened needles on some evergreens straight to one side. A burned out car with its doors open sat on the shoulder.
Five people have been found dead in Paradise from the fire, and sheriff's officials say they are investigating additional reports of fatalities. Thousands of buildings were destroyed.
The town of 27,000 about 180 miles (289 kilometers) northeast of
The
The park service says the ranch served as locations for productions ranging from 1938's "The Adventures of
The location set in the mountains west of
Filming continued for decades even as the ranch changed hands. It was acquired by the
When not in use for filming, visitors could stroll through
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Five people were found dead in vehicles Friday but
Honea said flames and downed power lines in Paradise are preventing deputies from reaching some areas.
The five victims were found in vehicles in the same area of the town, where residents described traffic jams and panic as they tried to escape flames on Thursday.
Thousands of buildings were destroyed in Paradise, about 180 miles (289 kilometers) northeast of
A mandatory evacuation order for the entire city of
A city-wide evacuation was ordered early Friday and then was scaled back.
But it has been extended again to include all of
Traffic is jammed on sections of
Some residents have evacuated to the parking lot of popular
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But officials with
The university says the fire has not entered
Paradise is 180 miles (289 kilometers) northeast of
About 24 hours after she last heard from the women as they rushed to try get out of the town of
She says the women stayed in the home overnight while the fire took over the neighborhood and eventually sought shelter in their car. Early Friday, they drove out of town and made contact with relatives.
Sheriff's officials in
Officials say the victims were found in the same area in the town of Paradise, near a main thoroughfare heading out of the town that was consumed by flames.
All of the city's 27,000 residents were ordered to evacuate on Thursday as the wildfire quickly turned into an inferno.
Many residents said traffic jams developed as they left as panicked people fled, some abandoning their cars to try to escape on foot.
The fire has grown to nearly 110 square miles (285 square kilometers).
Paradise is 180 miles (289 kilometers) northeast of
The fire has grown to nearly 110 square miles (285 square kilometers).
Paradise is 180 miles (289 kilometers) northeast of
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Maj.
The ferocious fire near the
Paradise is 180 miles (289 kilometers) northeast of
Smoke from the fire has made the air unhealthy in the
Fire officials say evacuations due to a raging
The so-called Woolsey Fire burning west of
Richardson estimates another 60,000 people will likely have to evacuate because the fire jumped
He says the fire's pace forced firefighters to focus on life-protection rather than saving structures and he expects that yet-to-be-determined number to be significant.
Another fire to the west has burned more than 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) in
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The fire near the
Another fire northwest of
Evacuation orders were issued for residents of the beachside community of
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She says: "We're trying to remain hopeful until we get word. We don't know what the outcome will be."
She and her brother posted on Facebook and Twitter Thursday asking if anyone had seen their mother. They tried calling 911 and other numbers. They were told that officials had a list of 300 to 400 welfare checks to do.
Finally they got word through Facebook that someone in her neighborhood had picked up a disabled woman but they haven't been able to confirm whether it's their mom.
The director of the
Fires are burning in Northern and
The fire near the
Another fire northwest of
The director of the
He says the magnitude of the destruction is unbelievable and heartbreaking.
The fire near the town of Paradise has grown to nearly 110 square miles (285 square kilometers).
Some people who escaped a roaring wildfire in northern
Residents of the town of Paradise told harrowing tales Friday of a slow motion escape from a fire so close they could feel it inside their vehicles as they sat stuck in terrifying gridlock.
They say it was like the entire town of 27,000 residents decide to leave at once.
Fire surrounded the evacuation route and drivers panicked, some crashing and others abandoning their vehicles to try their luck on foot.
Many of the rural residents have propane tanks on their property and the tanks were exploding.
Resident
Authorities have issued an unhealthy air quality alert for parts of the
Officials say the thousands of structures in the town of Paradise, 180 miles (290 kilometers) northeast of
The air in
They are advising older people and children to move physical activities indoors.
All people are encouraged to limit their outdoor activities.
The city of
The fire erupted Thursday northwest of
A fire official says a
Capt.
Johns says heavy winds continue to drive the fire but winds are expected to ease Friday afternoon, which could give firefighters an opportunity to start containing it.
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Capt.
A raging
The fire broke out Thursday northwest of
Officials in
Cal Fire Capt.
The blaze that started Thursday morning east of Paradise and decimated the town also spread to the west.
It reached the edge of
Wildfires raging west of
To the west in
The
Two wildfires raging west of
The
The flames are being driven by
Both fires erupted Thursday afternoon and have grown rapidly.
One fire that broke out near the northeast corner of Los Angeles has roared westward, jumped
Evacuations have been ordered on the edges of the Northern California city of
Capt.
Authorities have said that at least two firefighters and multiple residents were injured in Paradise. McLean said Friday morning that he had no immediate update on injuries.
He says strong winds made it difficult for aircraft to drop retardant effectively on the fire.
A fast-moving wildfire that ravaged a
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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.
The fire was reported shortly after daybreak in a rural area. By nightfall, it had consumed more than 28 square miles and was raging out of control.
Authorities say at least two firefighters and multiple residents were injured.
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