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Three dangerous wildfires are raging in California.
The Butte County Sheriff announced Saturday that 14 additional bodies have been recovered – some found in cars and houses – bringing the death toll to 23 so far.
The Camp Fire, in northern California, started Thursday morning and quickly charred the entire town of Paradise, which is home to 27,000. The flames grew so fast – at a pace of 80 football fields per minute – that people were burned to death in their cars, the Butte County Sheriff Korey Honea told the Associated Press. One deceased person was found near a vehicle.
According to the sheriff, the department has received 35 missing persons reports. So far, at least nine people have died as a result of the Camp Fire. In addition to those found in or near a vehicle, one person was found inside a home.
Authorities announced Saturday night, two people were found dead in Malibu after the Woolsey and Hill fires raged over 100 square miles of Southern California.
As of 6:00 a.m. PT, the blaze had burned 90,000 acres in just over 24 hours and was 5% contained.
More than 6,700 structures were destroyed. It is now considered the most destructive wildfire in California.
To the south, on the outskirts of Los Angeles, two smaller fires also began and are now being created for homeowners to flee. The Woolsey and Hill Fires Are Burning Through Ventura and The Counties. The flames have been attacked by Kim Kardashian West and shut down stretches of the 101 freeway.
Inside the city limits of LA, another smaller fire broke out Friday morning in Griffith Park near the zoo. Firefighters scrambled to reach the area by helicopter since the area was not accessible by truck. At 4:30 p.m. on Friday, the fire Was 60% contained.
Southern California fire officials say the flames have burned at least 150 homes. They say that number is likely to increase.
Already this year, 7,578 fires have burned in California, fueled by hot, dry conditions and aggressive winds.
Camp Fire claims at least 9 lives
The Fire Camp started at 6:30 am on Thursday. So far, more than 6,700 structures have been burned.
According to the Butte County sheriff's office, five of the people whose deaths were confirmed were located near Edgewood Lane in Paradise, California, in "Camp Fire." The sheriff's office was not yet able to identify those victims because of their burn injuries. Other residents ran from the fire, the Sacramento Bee reported.
California Acting Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Butte County because of the Fire Camp Thursday, and feels a letter to President Donald Trump and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) asking for federal badistance.
Smoke from that fire is blanketing wide swaths of northern California in a gray haze. On Friday morning, people in San Francisco woke up to the smell of smoke and poor air quality, and some give their masks to protect their lungs.
Federal air monitors have suggested that older adults, children, teens, and people with high blood pressure should be included in the air. The air in San Francisco right now is bad in Beijing, CBS reported.
Two found dead as Hill and Woolsey swallow fires 100 square miles in Ventura and the counties
Authorities announced Saturday, July 20, 2011 at 8:00 pm The Mulholland Highway in Malibu Los Angeles Sheriff's County Chief John Benedict said. Benedict did not explain further, as detectives are investigating.
Late Friday night, fire officials downgraded the Fire Hill to 4,500 acres burned in Ventura County, and mandatory evacuation orders are in place for the Navy Mugu Point Point and California State University Channel Islands, among other areas. The blaze was 15% contained as of 6:15 am local time Saturday.
The Woolsey Fire (the one that forced Kim and Kourtney Kardashian out of their homes) has charred 35,000 acres, the AP reported Friday evening, and the LA County Fire Department said the blaze was still 0% contained as of 6:15 AM PT Saturday. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in areas including Malibu, Topanga, and Thousand Oaks (the same city where a mbad shooter killed 12 people on Wednesday), the LA Times reported.
"Imminent threat! Malibu lakes residents must leave the area immediately," the county fire department wrote on Twitter Friday morning.
Shortly after noon on Friday, the City of Malibu said that it is "burning is now burning out of control and heading into the populated areas of Malibu, all residents must evacuate immediately." LA County Sheriff's Deputies were knocking on doors there, telling everyone in the star-studded beach town to get out.
You can view the full evacuation orders at the Ventura County Emergency Information Site and the LA County Woolsey Fire Site.
As a result of the blazes, 250,000 people in Ventura and the counties had been evacuated as of Friday night, the Times said.
By Friday evening, about 75% of the Ventura County of Thousand Oaks had been abandoned, according to the Associated Press.
Firefighters are racing to keep flames from charring's people's homes, but as the Fire Department Eric Scott pointed out on Twitter, some houses are better protected than others, since green vegetation can help keep flames back.
On Friday morning, less than 24 hours after the two fires broke out, acting Gov. Newsom declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Read More: A California wildfire just demolished the entire town and forced the Kardashians to evacuate. Here's why wildfire season is getting longer and stronger.
The fires have forced the freeway to a different couple. In Ventura County, a nine-mile stretch southbound from Wendy Drive to Lewis Road where the Hill Fire raged, was closed. In The County, a section of the Mulholland Drive / Valley Circle Road exit to Reyes Woolsey Fire jumped across the highway.
Many of the Ventura County public schools closed on Friday, Pepperdine University, Moorpark Community College, California State University Channel Islands, and Cal Lutheran University.
Wildfire "season," in California used to run through the fall, since autumn's Santa Ana winds help blow flames around. But as the planet heats up, unseasonably high temperatures and drought conditions are becoming more common. So fire officials in the state are succumbing to the idea that fires may not be limited to any specific season anymore.
Ellen Cranley and Michelle Mark contributed reporting.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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