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New firefighters arrived Saturday in the area, with gusts of wind reaching 50 miles at the scheduled time until Monday, increasing the risk of conditions similar to those of Thursday's fire. said Alex Hoon of the National Weather Service.
Two people were also found dead in a forest fire in southern California, bringing the total number of casualties to 25, as fires ravaged Malibu mansions and working-class suburbs. State officials estimate that more than 200,000 people are forced to leave their homes. Evacuations included the city of Malibu, home to some of Hollywood's biggest stars.
Back in paradise, the air was still clogged with smoke. Residents who had stayed to try to save their property or who had managed to return to their neighborhood had found cremated cars and houses reduced to rubble.
People avoided the metal that melted cars and jet skis and donned a mask while they were roaming the ravaged neighborhoods despite the evacuation order of Paradise, a city of 27. 000 inhabitants founded in the nineteenth century. Some cried when they saw that there was nothing left.
Jan MacGregor, 81, has returned to his small two-bedroom house in Paradise with the help of his grandson firefighter. He found his house leveled – a large metal safe and the pipes of his septic system were the only recognizable traces. The safe was punctured by bullet holes caused by guns inside that exploded under extreme heat.
He has been living in paradise for almost 80 years. He moved there in 1939 when he declared that the city had only 3,000 inhabitants and was nicknamed Poverty Ridge. The fire was not a total surprise, he said.
"We knew that paradise was a prime target for wildfires over the years," he said. "We brought them to the city limits – oh yes – but nothing like that," he said.
MacGregor said that he probably would not rebuild: "I have nothing here to return."
The houses and other buildings in Paradise were still burning and the fire crews were trying to extinguish those flames, said Scott McLean, captain of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Officials warned firefighters to wear their helmets and pay attention to fallen trees.
Drought, the mild climate attributed to climate change and deeper forest-dwelling construction have led to more destructive forest fire seasons that started earlier and last longer.
California has emerged from a drought that lasted five years last year, but the climate is very dry in 2018. Much of the two-thirds of the northern state, including l & # 39; 39, where the fire burns, is abnormally dry, according to an analysis of the US government.
Elinor "Jeannie" Williams, 86, was not among the nine victims of the fire but died while she was waiting to be flown from an evacuated hospital where she was being treated for a head injury.
She was dying and the family was waiting to lose her a few days ago, said her daughter-in-law, Lisa. Nevertheless, his death was hard for his father Robert, 84, who may also have lost his home, she said.
"He's lost, he's confused, he's trying to hold on," she said. "It hits him hard, everything is gone, including his wife."
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