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Rex Stewart was bankrupt when he landed in Paradise, California more than 40 years ago. But he found work as a carpenter, helping to build parts of this rather modest city of retirees and commuters nestled in the hills of Sierra Nevada.
On Saturday, after escaping the most destructive fire in the history of California, he stood outside an evacuation shelter not carrying more his name than the coat he was wearing and a winter cap with the peace symbol on it
"Paradise is gone," said Stewart, 66, pulling a cigarette .
Fires continue to rage at both ends of California, spreading at breakneck speed and displacing hundreds of thousands of people into a state where once-seasonal anxiety has become an almost constant terror. At least nine died in the camp fire, about 100 kilometers north of Sacramento, and two others died in fires near Los Angeles.
Wildfires are inconstant looters, swiveling to spare one thing and destroying another, twisted by the wind and the fuels they feed on. Fire prevention authorities routinely include the words "perimeter defense" in the minds of the people of this part of California. Keep cut and burnt trees away from home and the danger of fire will decrease.
But the fires that broke out last week did not follow those rules. And Paradise, in Butte County, east of the city of Chico, was the hardest hit. Officials said the fire was an incessant fire on the front of the storm, which started early Thursday morning and exploded on 100,000 acres and destroyed more than 6,700 homes and commercial buildings.
Paradise, home to about 26,000 people, was shrouded in smoke on Saturday. . The flames licked electrical poles and ghostly chimneys rose from charred concrete foundations. Traces of the chaos of escape lined the road outside the city, in the charred carcbades of cars and trucks abandoned in the middle of the escape. Some cars were crushed under fire on both sides of the road. At least five people died in their cars, overwhelmed by hell, authorities said.
Jackie Gayle, 73, was coming down from paradise while vehicles were burning.
"A motorhome was on fire and we had to sit next to it until we were invited to leave. You could feel the heat coming through the window, "she said.
At the Adventist Health Feather River Hospital, which Stewart had helped to build, a helicopter platform was filled with the remains of a recent evacuation. Wheelchairs and beds, laboratory equipment and saline bags still hanging from their hooks were stuck on the concrete slab, which was surrounded by a moat of rocks to prevent the flames from s & d. # 39; isolate. Parts of the hospital escaped destruction and became a shelter for some people who snuggled in a basement when the fire broke out.
The camp fire is not over. Only 20% of the population contained, she still threatens other communities, including the outskirts of Chico, the largest town in Butte County, and the evacuation destination of many Paradise residents, such as Stewart .
For James Betts, another resident of Paradise, the miracle of escape. gave way to the losses he knew he had to face at home. Betts, a 33-year-old gardener in a nursery, had attempted to walk out the morning of the fire. He does not own a car and none of the seven people who accompanied him, including a nephew and his pregnant girlfriend, did so either.
A man in a van, known to no one – Betts never even heard his name – stood up and shouted them to get into the bed of the truck.
"It's a bit difficult when you do not have a city to go back to," said Betts. "When you were raised in the mountains all your life, it's still your retirement."
A spokesman for the Campfire Command said the winds, which fell on Saturday, are expected to recover Saturday night on Sunday night.
President Donald Trump commented on the fires on Saturday, saying he would withhold state federal funds.
"There is no reason for these huge, deadly and expensive forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor," Trump said on Twitter. "Billions of dollars are given every year, with so many lives lost, all because of the mismanagement of the forests.Care now, or more of the Fed's payments! "
There is no reason for these forest fires mbadive, deadly and expensive in California, if only the management of the forest is so bad.Billions of dollars are given every year, with so many lives lost, all because of the mismanagement of forests Remedy Now or More Fed Payments!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018
Comments have elicited outrage from local leaders and firefighters organizations.
"Right now, thousands of our brothers and sisters Firefighters put their lives in danger to protect the lives and property of thousands of people, "said Brian Rice, president of California's professional fire department, which represents more than 30,000 firefighters and paramedics. "Some even do it while their houses are in ruins."
Nearly 60 percent of California's 33 million acres of forest belong to the federal government, according to a report released in 2018 by the California Legislative Analyst's Office. An additional 25% of state forests are privately owned and approximately 14% are owned by industrial owners such as timber processing companies. State and local governments own only 3% of the state's forests.
One of the two big fires in southern California, called Woolsey, also increased, doubling its size to 70,000 acres and forcing the evacuation of about 250,000 people. to state officials. It was 0% content Saturday morning. Fire crews in Ventura and Los Angeles counties were fighting on steep terrain that made it difficult to control the fire.
"Our firefighters have experienced extreme and harsh fire conditions that they said have never seen their lives," said Daryl Osby, chief of the county fire department. Los Angeles. "We have just finished the hottest summer ever recorded. We currently have fuels in critical drought condition. This is the sixth year of drought in this region for seven years.
Osby said the winds are expected to strengthen on Sunday and Tuesday, further complicating firefighting efforts in the region and that they currently have no time limit. lifting evacuation orders or opening Highway 101, one of the main roads in the region.
(This story was published from a stream of the dispatch agency without modification of the text).
First published: November 11, 2018 10:32 IST
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