California Wildfires Shocking Eyewitness Footage Of Deadly Blazes As It Happened

LIVE EYEWITNESS

Go behind the frontlines of California's most catastrophic wildfires with this gripping collection of hand-picked news broadcasts. Relive the chaos, courage, and tragedy as television crews captured these historic disasters in real time, exactly as viewers saw them unfold.   Experience the intensity of breaking news alerts, dramatic rescues, and heart-stopping evacuations. Watch as communities confront raging flames, emergency responders battle against impossible odds, and survivors share their powerful eyewitness accounts. Every moment is preserved from original broadcasts, giving you an unfiltered look at the events that shocked California and the world.   In this video, you’ll see:   • Shocking live footage of wildfires erupting across California  • Real-time news coverage of evacuations and rescue missions  • Historic “as it happened” moments from TV news archives  • Dramatic scenes of the devastating aftermath and tragic losses  • First-hand survivor stories and heroic emergency response   These are the broadcasts that defined California’s wildfire crisis... raw, authentic and unforgettable.   🔔 Subscribe for more historic news coverage as it happened, and share your memories or experiences of the California Wildfires in the comments below.   LIVE EYEWITNESS steps you back in time to the moments that shaped our world, showcasing historic television news coverage from across the decades. Relive how major news events unfolded, exactly as viewers saw them at the time. From breaking news headlines to global turning points, these videos offer a powerful window into the past through original broadcasts from leading news networks.

Transcript

00:00We begin with that breaking news. A state of emergency in California as deadly fires explode

00:05across the state. President Trump ordering federal assistance to help with the disaster.

00:10Overnight, those fires ousting hundreds of thousands of residents from their homes.

00:15Report of three people trapped in a house. People trapped in cars. There might be some injuries.

00:22A line of fires in Southern California turning homes to cinders, racing across the landscape

00:28faster than firefighters can contain them. Residents like Rebecca Hackett desperate to outrun the flames

00:34filming on Instagram as Embers pelted her car.

00:38Please, God. Please let me in.

00:42I was really scared earlier. I was in shock. I definitely thought I was going to die. I thought

00:48I'm not going to make it out, but I just kept driving because I didn't know what else to do.

00:53Earlier officials ordering residents to evacuate in advance of the fires.

00:57So much chaos that Pepperdine University apparently given mixed messages, leaving 3,500 students

01:06in the fire zone.

01:07It's my back to our room to get some blankets.

01:10All of them are okay this morning, but the aftermath here is apocalyptic. The Woolsey and

01:16Hill fires have grown to 40,000 acres in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

01:20I'm fairly certain it's gone. We stayed long enough to see the flames almost encircle the house.

01:27Chaos. Fire engines everywhere. The houses near me were burning. Embers were flowing all across my house.

01:34Fires forcing evacuations of star-studded neighborhoods like Malibu and Calabasas, with many celebrities

01:41posting to their social media accounts with their status. Like Caitlyn Jenner on Instagram Friday,

01:47posting to her 9 million followers after news that her Malibu home likely burned down in the fire.

01:53Don't know if the house made it or not.

01:56And President Trump criticizing containment of the fires, tweeting there is no reason for these

02:02massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California, except that forest management is so poor.

02:08This morning, the death toll rising at the campfire.

02:11We now can confirm a total of nine fatalities.

02:16The blaze ripping through 90,000 acres of land, destroying more than 6,000 homes in just a few hours.

02:23We're in a neighborhood surrounded by flames. You can see flames shooting out of the roof of this

02:27home. And then check out this tree right here. You have flames shooting hundreds of feet up into the

02:33air. This entire community has burned to the ground. Everything here is gone.

02:37We're just hoping right now that our home's going to be okay. You know how sometimes there's a home

02:44that's, that's okay. We're hoping that that home is ours. We're about 95% sure our house is gone.

02:52This weekend, large parts of the community look like a bomb exploded, leaving only rubble and heartbreak

02:57behind. It's devastated. We're, we're grateful that we got people out as quickly as we did yesterday,

03:04but we have a lot to do to rebuild. 27,000 residents still under an evacuation order after

03:12many raced to safety, raving roads surrounded by hellish flames. It was pure chaos when the fire

03:18swept through this area. You can see this car crash. Some drivers simply jumped out and ran for it.

03:24We have seen miles upon miles of charred cars. Nearly 25,000 without power in Butte County up north

03:30and close to 20,000 more powerless in Southern California.

03:35Parts of paradise now look more like a wasteland. Cars incinerated, homes destroyed and animals

03:40helplessly roaming the streets, including this dog burned and confused, a highway patrolman stopping

03:46to help. Unfortunately, it is my sad duty to report that we now can confirm a total of nine fatalities.

03:55I could have mounted up and had everything I needed, but I didn't have time. This is hard stuff.

04:00We lost our house. We lost our business in a matter of seconds. Only thing we got is our credit cards

04:08and our bank cards. We had virtually nothing. No, we're starting over. A lot of trees got caught on

04:14fire and all my neighbors got hoses and we hosed them down and somehow we saved our houses. So I was

04:21just coming up here to, I just can't believe it. It really looks like a war zone. It was crazy. People

04:26driving like maniacs to get out of here. And it's never been this bad. It feels like the Garden of

04:35Eden just turned into gates of hell. On the news, they said that there was a house that they took all

04:41the motorcycles out, but the house made it. So I was just coming up the street to see my neighbors

04:46and I didn't realize my house gone too. Further south, two fires are posing a threat on the northern

04:53outskirts of Los Angeles, but no deaths have been reported there. Even so, the entire beachside

04:59community of Malibu now lies virtually empty. This is the scene. This morning, as the smoke blows over

05:06the coast, Malibu's 150,000 residents have joined another 100,000 elsewhere in seeking safety.

05:13Right now, a massive wildfire ravaging northern California. 27,000 residents have evacuated

05:20and thousands more left without any power. Meanwhile, near Los Angeles, crews are trying

05:25to contain two separate fires. The entire city of Malibu was ordered to evacuate earlier this

05:30morning. NBC's Gotti Schwartz is live in Westlake Village, California. Gotti, what's going on where

05:35you are? We can see the smoke now. Yeah, yeah. So there's a lot of smoke coming. Actually, in fact,

05:41there's a fire truck coming in right here because this hilltop right now is about to be overtaken

05:46by flames. You can see them coming up and it's coming up on this side too. I'm going to just

05:51take you over here. We're going to kind of fall back a little bit, but there's a ridge line over

05:56here where quickly the flames came all the way up and they started cresting over. So this is kind of

06:03one of our fallback positions. I'm going to give you a shot of what we're looking at and then we're

06:07probably going to head down the mountain. Fires move so quickly uphill. They take a little bit

06:15longer going downhill, but now we're seeing plumes of smoke on almost every side. It's coming this way.

06:21You can see all that smoke coming this way. So this is a ridgetop full of homes. These firefighters

06:27are going right now. They're not really here to do structure protection. They're here to make sure that

06:31people are all out of their homes. So that's what we're seeing up and down this street. We heard some

06:37people going through with loudspeakers, emergency personnel telling everybody to get out as quickly

06:41as possible. And I'm going to show you why right here. So over here, there's a house that's up on

06:48the ridge and you've got flames that are now overtaking the ridge and they're coming back down

06:55this side. So it's headed towards our direction. We've got our vehicles staged over here. We're actually

07:01going to fall back right now because those flames are coming this way. These winds are relentless.

07:06This is just one of those places of many places in Southern California where over 70,000 to 100,000

07:14people are now under evacuation. Guys, I'm going to send it back to you. I know you've done this

07:18before, but obviously this is this looks perilous. So whatever you have to do, whether you're on TV

07:24with us or not, don't get yourself in between flames that are coming up. You make an interesting

07:28point. Fires go uphill very quickly because wind rises. The wind goes with it. Downhill is different

07:34because the air is going up while, while the fire has to go down. But we're looking at pictures

07:39now of Malibu. It is kind of remarkable. They evacuated or they're evacuating all of Malibu.

07:44Let's start walking this way.

07:46Waiting all of Malibu right now, the entire city. One of the reasons is because of the PCH. That's the,

07:52basically the one, the road in, it gets, it gets to be a choke point, especially in emergency

07:58situation. So they have the fire that is headed towards that direction. It is making some really

08:04fast runs, but hopefully the, the thought is that if they can evacuate that early, it's going to take

08:10several hours to get all those thousands and thousands of people out of there. If they can

08:14evacuate early, they won't see some of those really dangerous situations where you have choke points

08:21and then you have fire taking those choke points. People stuck in their cars, unable to do anything

08:26really, as the flames come over their cars. That's what we saw in paradise yesterday where some

08:30people were, were petrified while they were in their cars. They were stuck in gridlock. Some of

08:34them got out on, some of them got out on foot and they started, they started trying to find any type

08:41of protection. They found firefighters that were able to protect them and, and find a shelter and lay

08:48down water around that shelter. But it's one of those situations where, you know, when you, when you're

08:53stuck in gridlock and there are flames all around, a lot of people just panic. They get out of their

08:57cars. And then later on, you've got fire personnel that have to get back through that same area.

09:02And they were yesterday using bulldozers to kind of clear those roads and make sure that personnel

09:07could get through there because people had just abandoned their cars. Wait, they were using bulldozers

09:12to get parked cars out of the way? Yeah. We're going to keep walking this way. Sorry, guys. We're just

09:18going to start falling back here. Yeah. So, so they were, they were using bulldozers. Usually

09:23dozers come in and they cut lines. They were cutting lines through the roads. They were just

09:27basically plowing straight through to try to get the roads clear because people had abandoned their

09:33cars and they just left them. This is why we're trying to get out of here. So there's another plume

09:36coming up over here. I'm pretty confident that we're going to be fine. There's, you know, we've,

09:41we've been talking to fire officials out here. This is our trigger point. We're now hitting it.

09:46This is what it looks like when we start to fall back. So, um, you've got that plume over there.

09:50We're going to get in our cars. We're going to head downhill and then we'll check back with you in

09:53just a bit. All right. Gotti Schwartz, be safe. Make sure your crew is safe. We have been prepared

09:57for about a day and a half. I got a call from a friend of mine who's a Ventura County firefighter

10:02and he told me when it started in Bell Canyon. So we've been ready. I was up here just an hour ago

10:07and this was fine. Right. Right. Tell my mom that. It was fine. There was nothing burning. There was a fire.

10:13Beautiful blue skies. Exactly. There was nothing. We drove your entire neighborhood just to check

10:18and make sure you guys were okay. Us too. And we've never been through this. Not in 20 years.

10:23It's the wind. I don't know what it is. It's the wind is the enemy of the firefighters. Let me tell you.

10:28Original owner in that house also and it looks like it's been spared. I am so thankful. You know,

10:33these fires just jump the homes and we're starting to see your other neighbor's house. Oh,

10:37it's already kind of fire in the back. I can see that. Which one? This one? Yes,

10:40right here. The one that's a facade is still standing here in the front. Just if you're just

10:44tuning into Fox 11, we're on Kenrose Circle and Parkmore Road, the 5400 block. We're talking

10:51with, I'm sorry, what is your name? Melanie Turquan. Melanie. Melanie has chosen to stay behind

10:55or to come back to try to protect her home. Her husband is actually up on the roof as are many

11:01of Melanie's neighbors. Look at the cross. You see the cross on the top of that house? Yes. Yes,

11:06I do. The best neighbors we've ever had. Very religious. I am sure they're watching over us.

11:12No doubt. And now the sad news that they've lost their homes. Oh my God. Look at that. Yes.

11:18And I see around the corner there on, what is this? Kenrose Circle. There's another home burning down

11:24the street. That is the only one. I'm going to ask Tony Butita, if you can hear me,

11:27I'm going to ask you to walk with me. Gigi, out of curiosity, you walk through these neighborhoods.

11:31They look like just regular idyllic neighborhoods. Do these neighbors,

11:34they ever think that there could be a fire here? It's not as if they're butted up against the

11:39wilderness or they're not butted up against that wildland interface or anything. They just seem

11:44like these master-planned communities with regular vegetation around their homes. It's not,

11:50I would think that they thought they would be fairly safe from these fires.

11:57Now, this is a very, again, a tight-knit community. There's a lot of cul-de-sacs

12:01in this small pocket of homes or large pocket of homes. Our acres are asking, did you ever,

12:07I mean, think that a fire could come through this area at all? Because you're not directly

12:11up against the hillside. But my brother-in-law said, we always knew a fire could come through,

12:17but we thought it would come through and come around us. We never thought this would happen

12:21because it hasn't. The houses have been here since 1960.

12:24Never happened before? Never. One house up at the very top, I think,

12:29was burned. But no, this has not happened. Your block has been devastated with this block.

12:34Absolutely. I'm so sorry, Melanie. I'm glad your house is okay. And we're going to keep a close

12:39eye on your husband up there on the roof. Yes, yes.

12:41Be careful if this fire continues to move. Again, we are so thankful for these firefighters

12:46coming in here and doing this for us. They're heroes. Absolutely. I agree. I agree.

12:50We are absolute heroes. They're rushing. Something just exploded. Okay, something just exploded.

12:55I think it was a tree. Okay. This is what we've been, we actually, we actually heard this down

13:00on Moreau Road. We heard the explosions from your neighborhood. Do you know if houses down there

13:04are burning? The business center, there was a fire around it, but firefighters were able to save it.

13:09There's a fire at the Taco Bell too, but they were able to save that. Okay, Melanie, I know you're

13:13worried about your husband. Thank you for talking to us. Be safe. Okay, again, we're on Parkmore

13:18in Kenrose Circle. My photographer is showing you all these homes. I count one, two, three,

13:25four, possibly six homes going up in flames right now. The fire continues to spread as this wind

13:32just moves it. This is a devastating loss for this neighborhood here in Calabasas. Again,

13:38extremely tight mid, friendly folks, working people. You heard, Melanie, they've lived here,

13:43most of them for decades, many of them since this neighborhood was first built. We're seeing

13:48Los Angeles County fire, engine 5185 here on the scene. And my photographer is giving you a live

13:55look at everything that's happening. This is just an absolute loss. Another home just totally lost.

14:02And that's the latest from Calabasas. I see another neighbor over there. He's watering down his

14:06wooden fence. People doing what they can to protect their homes. It really is a devastating sight. So

14:14this is the 5400 block of Parkmore in Calabasas, just paralleling Moreau Road, where both Susan and

14:21Gigi were minutes ago. And this neighborhood, since the 1960s, these homes have been there.

14:28They have never dealt with anything like this, because as you said, they're not butted up against

14:32any wild land directly in their backyards or in their front yards. So they have thought that they

14:37were safe. And then just within the hour, even, they said that there was none of this around.

14:43Everything was completely fine. Yeah. You see some of the fire there under the eaves.

14:47Go ahead. Go ahead, Gigi. Right now, you're watching live as firefighters try to make entry into the

14:53garage of the home at 5444 Parkmore, trying to get to the seat of the fire to stop it from spreading to

15:00the home next door. Meanwhile, firefighters are at the home down the street, just dousing it with

15:05water, surrounded, drowned, as our Rick Dickert likes to say. So they're trying to get into that

15:11garage right now just to stop the fire. But it is raging the streets, the visibility. I can't even

15:19see Melanie's husband anymore. He's still up on his roof. There's so many homeowners right now on their

15:25roofs trying to save their homes. You don't get any closer to the front lines than you are right

15:30now in terms of when you have firefighters with literally axes and these tools to try and to stop

15:38the flames from spreading. I think what is most remarkable here, Gigi, is that you've been circulating

15:43about the area. You've been looking around. You were just here in the neighborhood and thought

15:48this area is safe. You don't have to worry about this area. And out of nowhere, you have these fires

15:55just exploding, these spot fires and embers catching these, all of these homes on fire. It is just how

16:04quickly all of these homes went up in flames. It is just quite remarkable.

16:10It just shows you how a fire can quickly turn so dangerous and how people think they're safe because

16:18there's just nothing happening in their area. And they think it's all good. Maybe the fire has

16:23passed through this area. And in reality, it hasn't. Not when you're dealing with the Santa Ana winds.

16:30We've seen explosive fire behavior, erratic wind. The fire, one fire official said, exceeded all of their

16:37forecasts of what they expected to happen. So yes, we were here, very familiar with this neighborhood.

16:44We came up to look at two homes that actually had a fire burning behind them. They suffered

16:49some pretty serious damage, not a complete loss. That was on Atomor, up the street. We were here

16:58earlier. We drove through the neighborhood just to make sure everything was okay. And it appeared to

17:04be okay. I was showing Tony Butina this neighborhood. I was telling him how I come here to walk and how

17:09lovely the people are and how nice everybody is and how they've lived here for so many years.

17:14And then this happens. It's just devastating to see. It would be devastating in any neighborhood.

17:20This is a working class neighborhood.

17:23Another fire we're watching this morning in California. Not just three fires. And not just

17:28one, rather. We're watching three. This is a real fire crisis that is producing more heartbreak

17:34for the community of Thousand Oaks. The scene just yesterday of what we were covering, the bar

17:40shooting, the mass shooting early yesterday. Now, wildfires racing through Thousand Oaks. This began

17:47yesterday afternoon. And they've destroyed homes and prompted mandatory evacuations in Thousand Oaks

17:53and in other parts of Ventura County on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Other wildfires have caused

17:59similar devastation in Northern Carolina. And we're taking a look at, this is the camera. This

18:05is the perspective. You can see the firefighters themselves as they try to get these under control.

18:12I don't want to get in the way of these firefighters. I think that's a reporter there. We won't listen

18:15into their live broadcast. Obviously, the shows, the morning shows in Los Angeles are following this

18:19so closely. But you see how they are trying to stop the advance of these flames, which have whipped

18:24up in just a matter of hours, have already destroyed and damaged literally thousands of structures.

18:32And John Northcott, let's look at these pictures together. What are you tracking most in California

18:37right now? Yeah, as you say, Heather, it is the speed of this that has been incredible. In some cases,

18:42we're talking a matter of minutes before these become fully engulfed. And then people try to leave

18:48their homes. Yesterday, terrifying stories on the freeways of people trying to get out of these

18:53communities and described it as a tunnel of fire and smoke along the freeways. We're talking people

19:00with trailers, people with children, people with pets, and then literally having to flee their

19:04vehicles. This as power lines explode and fall onto the freeway. The community that so many people

19:11are focusing on is paradise. Now, that is in the Sacramento Valley, just northeast of the capital

19:16of California, Sacramento. And 27,000 people live there. Many of them evacuated. But we're talking

19:25about, according to officials, thousands of structures. It is, of course, still dark there.

19:29We're still about an hour away from sunrise in California. So we'll get a full extent of the

19:34devastation then, potentially, though, because we understand these fires are moving towards other

19:38larger communities nearby. Those are communities that people have escaped from paradise to get to.

19:43But the toll in terms of properties, we're talking about homes, supermarkets, businesses,

19:48restaurants, even retirement homes, those with mobility problems, very difficult to get them

19:54out. They have been moved. There are many others, though, elderly, disabled, people living in their

20:00own homes who've tried to contact relatives. And many of them, their fates at this point are unknown.

20:05Again, it is the speed of that. Everyone caught off guard to the point where people are anxious to get

20:11away and, in many cases, leave everything behind and are still getting stuck, as they say, on the

20:17freeway trying to leave. I mean, these are just harrowing first-person accounts that we're getting

20:22this morning, John. So leaving that fire, that's called the Camp Fire, which is really euphemistic,

20:29if you ask me. And let's go to the Wolsey Fire, which is affecting Ventura County. And as I mentioned,

20:34Thousand Oaks. I mean, you cannot imagine the heartbreak already because of the shooting and now

20:39the fire at its doorstep. Exactly. This is a community that not only affected by that tragic

20:45shooting yesterday, but a community around, this is Ventura County, Thousand Oaks. As you head north

20:50from Los Angeles, you'll go through Oxnard and then you'll hit this area as well on your way to Santa

20:55Barbara. They have been hit. Again, the rapid progress of it, it jumped the 101 freeway. And as anyone is

21:02familiar with the drive up the California coast, the 101 is a huge freeway. It literally jumped that in a

21:08matter of seconds, growing at a pace of some 40 football fields every 30 seconds. Imagine trying

21:15to outrun that. Let's listen to a firefighter describe the situation. This fire is wind-driven,

21:20erratic fire behavior. Our goal is to get people out from this fire. We're rescuing people out of

21:27their house. We're getting them moved away. And when we can engage and it's safe, we do.

21:32It's an emotional thing. You're asking people to leave their home. It's a mandatory evacuation.

21:37What that means is you don't have to leave. We want you to leave. But people know that

21:42they can't get back in once they do leave.

21:44With thousands of acres ablaze, a whirlwind of fire was evident. The so-called firenado

21:51at the heart of the destruction.

21:56The most intense and lethal of the two California wildfires is burning 180 miles north of San

22:02Francisco, around the city of paradise. For drivers trying to escape with their lives, it is a vision

22:14from hell. Some reduce to praying as they drive.

22:21Heavenly Father, please help us. Five people have been found dead in their cars.

22:26Please help us to be safe.

22:28This family emerging safely out of the inferno.

22:32From one home, dozens of rounds of ammunition could be heard igniting.

22:38I saved their lives.

22:40This man woke up his neighbors and told them to flee.

22:44I don't think there's not going to be a home left in paradise. I don't know.

22:49500 miles to the south, close to Malibu, it is a similar vision.

22:54This entirely separate wildfire is also being driven by extremely high winds.

23:05Embers spreading the destruction across some of the most affluent communities in America.

23:18Dozens of homes have been lost and thousands have been forced to flee.

23:23But here at least, so far, no lives have been lost.

23:27What you take for granted every day, being able to come home and rest your head on a bed,

23:32it's gone.

23:33Oh, my God, look at that.

23:36With a giant plume of smoke indicating the size of the blaze, firefighters are left trying

23:41to contain it from both the ground and from the air.

23:44A state of emergency has now been declared in California. It is unimaginable. They woke up

23:50to a massacre here Thursday morning, and on the same day, an out-of-control wildfire erupting.

23:55And tonight, there are now several fires burning here in California.

23:58You can see this home right here behind me. It's been incinerated. They believe that burning embers

24:03actually landed on this home and then it erupted into flames, burning down this home and then the home

24:08behind it. And it shows just how easily these fires are spreading across the state. The flames

24:13burning through neighborhoods here in Southern California throughout the night. It hasn't let

24:17up. The winds fanning the flames right along major highways. Today, racing down the mountains toward

24:22the coast, jumping the 101 here. And in the nearby city of Malibu tonight, they have now tweeted the

24:27fire is, quote, out of control. All residents evacuate now. And that's where we begin tonight,

24:32with ABC's Clayton Sandell on the scene with that urgent effort now underway. They say the fire is

24:37now headed to populated areas. Tonight, an urgent effort underway right now to get families out of

24:44harm's way across Southern California. Powerful, fast-moving, destructive wildfires burning a hole

24:49through L.A. and Ventura counties. In Malibu, firefighters in hand-to-hand, house-to-house combat.

24:56The Woolsey Fire triggering mass evacuations. Traffic on the Pacific Coast Highway backed up for miles.

25:02The traffic is getting heavier and heavier and slower and slower.

25:06First responders racing to get families to safety. Report of three people trapped in a house.

25:12When you have 40, 50, 60 mile an hour winds blowing fire at your heels, the importance is to get people

25:19out of harm's way. We met Ashley Snodgrass just seconds after she and her boyfriend escaped from

25:25their home near Malibu. The fire people are there, but there's nothing that they can do.

25:29And you think your house is on fire now?

25:35Look at the flames and look at that smoke and how it's blowing. That shows you the strength of the winds.

25:40The fire exploding overnight. Now more than 35,000 acres. You can see what happens when these wind

25:48gusts pick up. Just a little bit of smoldering debris suddenly sends up showers of embers,

25:54and those embers can go downwind and start new fires. Flames jumping the 101 freeway before dawn,

26:01shutting it down. Tonight, dozens of homes are destroyed and the fire shows no signs of slowing down,

26:07as evacuation orders and anxiety keep spreading. And David, this evening you can see lots of

26:13activity to try and save homes on this street, but two here have already been destroyed. And if you

26:18take a look over here, this home has been completely gutted by fire. And it's collapsed right in front of

26:25us here. The problem is so much wind, and that's going to last late into the night. California continued

26:31to battle two major wildfires there. The Wolseley fire began Thursday afternoon south of Simi Valley.

26:37It has burned 35,000 acres in Ventura and Los Angeles counties and destroyed a significant

26:43number of structures. The fire has forced evacuations in the Malibu area from the hills to the Pacific

26:49Ocean. A stretch of U.S. Highway 101 from Agora Hills to Los Angeles remains closed because of those

26:55flames. At one point, the flames looked like a lava flowing uphill as they closed in on high-end homes in

27:01the Calabasas area. Hi, here's my house. I'm sorry for your loss. Thank you. Some homeowners were stunned

27:10at how quickly their properties were wiped out. Memory's gone. I mean, it was all in perfect condition

27:18two and a half hours ago when I was standing there. The wind just started swirling like a tornado,

27:23and the whole sky was black, and all you saw were flames. In Agora Hills on the ash remains of

27:28Paramount Ranch, a historic western filming location, it was used for a number of movies and tv shows

27:34including Westworld and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. Tens of thousands of residents ran for their lives,

27:40packing up whatever they could before fleeing their homes. Oh my god, ambers are going in the

27:45in the car we have got to get out of here. I hope mom's gonna be all right. God, it's so hot. Many

27:53barely escaped the flames. Heavenly Father, please help us. Traffic hit a standstill. Some were forced

27:59to abandon their cars and run. The fire burned through the town of Paradise in Northern California

28:07so quickly that crews stopped trying to control the blaze. Instead, they focused on getting people out

28:13alive. And by morning, most of the community lay in ruins. A considerable portion of the town was

28:20destroyed. Fire was all around me and it was kind of frightening. Two other fast-moving infernos are

28:30racing down the coast of California, whipped along by the Santa Ana winds. People in the path are being

28:36told to leave early. We've professed and preached throughout the last few months.

28:42The past year, ready, set, go. Each of our communities should be ready to pack up and

28:48leave at a moment's notice. Firefighters have been hard at work, but the destruction

28:53already seems inevitable. We've been through earthquakes. We've been through fires out here,

28:57but nothing that's actually got into the houses. It's burnt the yards and the hillsides, but nothing

29:03that's actually got houses. Officials are trying to use the lessons learned from last year's deadly

29:08wildfire season. We put our best plan forward in a life preservation mode to get people out of harm's

29:17way. But for now, California seems to be at the mercy of Mother Nature yet again. In Paradise, California,

29:24a massive wildfire turning day to night. There are embers blowing under my car. This video taken by one of

29:30the many families surrounded by flames as they tried to escape. We have got to get out of here. All around,

29:37homes burning and cars trapped in blackout conditions. Now we're only going, you know,

29:42barely above zero. These images in darkness, incredibly taken at around 930 in the morning.

29:48On the outskirts of the evacuation zone, an enormous smoke cloud spreads as this father

29:53waits for any word about his children. I have a two-year-old and a one-and-a-half-year-old

29:58that I can't get home to. Drivers stuck in gridlock as flames close in. The inferno exploding in size

30:06from 200 acres to 18,000 in a matter of hours. Its dramatic growth captured by satellite threatening

30:12a community of 27,000. Schools with children in class waiting to be rescued. The town hospital

30:21evacuated. We've got four trapped in the basement. Four people trapped in the basement. The hospital

30:26surrounded by fire. Those four rescued by police as whole neighborhoods were set ablaze.

30:31Babe, get out this lane. As tens of thousands escape paradise being consumed by smoke and flames.

30:39A night of utter hell. Boom, boom, boom. You can see that all three houses are on fire. Imagine looking

30:46out of your patio window and seeing this, your next door neighbor's home consumed by fire. There's no way at

30:53all to save this house. And at this point, firefighters aren't trying to do that. They're

30:57trying to keep this fire from spreading to homes around it. But the flames are being fed by high winds

31:04and the fires are leaping from house to house. Thousands of residents fled in their cars. It's insane.

31:11These trees are gone. The structure is gone. You can even see the outlines of cars behind me or

31:15shells of what once were cars and trucks. And over to the right, I can hear the constant crackling of power

31:22lines. Be careful with this fence. Don't touch the fence. They said there's a lot of live

31:26electrical lines through here. The hotel where Deborah was staying was ordered evacuated.

31:31She managed a few hours sleep in a restaurant. Northern California is also being hit hard.

31:38One woman prayed as she fled in the family car. Heavenly Father, please help us.

31:43Seconds later, look, the smoke clears and the flames are gone.

31:47CBS News correspondent David Begnaud had a harrowing escape.

31:52Ready? Three, two.

31:53This town in Northern California has been virtually wiped out. The name of the town,

31:59Paradise. Now it's Paradise Lost.

32:03Fire is ripping through Southern California with high winds driving columns of flame and smoke from the

32:12mountains to the sea. Tens of thousands of homes are threatened. Many have already been destroyed.

32:20My friend's house is totally burnt. I don't know about mine.

32:24You're fearful that your house will burn? Yes. Okay. Yeah. Very much.

32:33Residents of the wealthy seaside enclave of Malibu are fleeing under a mandatory evacuation order.

32:41The fires sprang up Thursday night. The source is still not known, but intense wind gusts rapidly

32:48spread the blaze through bone-dry chaparral and brush into communities. I looked out the back,

32:54and I said, uh, I'd rocked out my roommate's door, and I said, uh, what do you think? And he said,

32:58let's get the hell out of here. A huge tower of smoke rose thousands of meters into the sky,

33:04and the smoke made air quality hazardous for people with respiratory problems. California's acting

33:11Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency. And while authorities say most people

33:17heeded their warnings and evacuated when they were told to, we are also told by authorities that there

33:23have been some deaths. Firefighters are working desperately to keep up with the fast-moving,

33:30widespread blazes. When you have 40, 50, 60-mile-an-hour winds blowing fire

33:36at your heels, the importance is to get people out of harm's way and get them to safety.

33:41In Northern California, the town of Paradise turned to hell overnight. These incredible

33:49pictures show a tornado of fire raging there. The entire town is believed to have been destroyed.

33:5727,000 people fled the area. 20-year-old Colton Persefield shot this cell phone video

34:04as he drove through hellish conditions outside Paradise. He somehow made it to safety.

34:10Severe fires have ravaged large areas of California since October of last year. Now,

34:17the state is once more witnessing nature's fury at its worst. Rob Reynolds, Al Jazeera,

34:23Westlake Village, California. That's right. Good morning, Sandra. Standing in the rubble of what was

34:29somebody's home, a lifetime of somebody's memories, and hundreds and hundreds of other homes have

34:34suffered a similar fate here in Paradise. We're about two hours north of Sacramento.

34:39After the campfire just exploded here early yesterday morning, prompting a massive evacuation,

34:45people jumped in their cars and raced out with whatever they could. All the smoke and ash turning

34:51the morning skies dark, adding to the chaos. And when roads got congested, some people just abandoned

34:56their cars and ran from the flames. The local hospital is gone. 27,000 people were told to leave,

35:03and evacuation orders have now spread toward the city of Chico, a large college town where 90,000

35:09people are on high alert. The campfire has grown to 70,000 acres, just 5% contained. But down south,

35:16and even bigger disaster looms in Los Angeles and Ventura County. The Woolsey fire exploded overnight,

35:23jumping the 101 freeway that runs along the coast. That prompted an evacuation of the entire city of

35:29Malibu. 13,000 residents there being told there is an imminent threat and to get out now. And the

35:35Hill fire, more than 10,000 acres. And all of these fires have taken out scores of homes and buildings.

35:41Exact numbers aren't known because this all just happened within the last 24 hours. First responders

35:46now focused on saving lives and property. They'll get around to counting up losses and estimating the cause

35:53later. And while there have been several injuries, including to firefighters, thankfully there have

35:57been no confirmed reports of any fatalities. California has not had any significant rainfall

36:03now for many, many months. Dangerous fire conditions remain with strong gusty winds, low humidity,

36:10high temperatures, and now three major wildfires burning here in California and a long road ahead

36:16for people who've already lost everything. Mass devastation they're describing. Claudia Cowan, thank you.

36:21This is what remains after a wave of fire. A wood on the outskirts of paradise, blackened by heat,

36:31is now grey with ash. This was filmed by a man who claimed he only just escaped, whilst his neighbours

36:40didn't. Oh my god. I'm so lucky you'd be alive. I went down the canyon into a creek. It came over me and I

36:50thought I was going to die. I'm incredible. For the people of paradise, there is almost nothing left.

36:58Ninety percent of the city is gone. Local hospital staff saved patients and equipment when the order

37:04came to evacuate. Some, like nurse Nicole Jolly, nearly died doing so. My car got completely engulfed in flames.

37:13The cab filled up with smoke. And my husband, I called him and I said, I think I'm going to die.

37:20I love you. Tell the kids I love them. And he told me, don't die. Run. Get out of the car and run.

37:27She did run and survived. But in the ruins, bodies have been found and it's feared there will be more.

37:36Across Malibu, many have lost so much. Dozens of homes have gone devoured by a fire that doesn't

37:43discriminate between trailer homes or mansions. Malibu is where much of Hollywood calls home.

37:51Lady Gaga told her Instagram followers that she had been ordered to head to safety.

37:56So I'm going up to a higher place to take a look out at the fire. And Will Smith also used social media

38:06to show the view from his home. If you are in the evacuation zone, go now. What was unwelcome here

38:17was this tweet from the U.S. president putting the blame on California itself. There's no reason

38:23for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California, he wrote, except that forest management

38:29is so poor. He did later offer condolences and thanks to the firefighters. But it's years of drought,

38:37ferocious winds and rugged terrain that locals say make them vulnerable. Fires do not respect politics,

38:43though. So I would beg the president to pursue a major disaster declaration and not make this a

38:52political incident. Firefighters have without doubt saved homes and lives and for now they have the

39:01upper hand. But dry conditions and strong winds are forecast to return and with them come a fresh

39:08warning. This morning, the situation in California has gone from bad to worse with red flag warnings

39:17issued on both ends of the state. These winds will be as severe, if not more severe than we saw in the

39:24last few days. In Southern California, the Woolsey fire has claimed at least two lives. Thousands are

39:30still evacuated with many coming to grips with their loss. I've never seen anything like it. Santos

39:37Flanagan says the ferocious flames prevented him from leaving. That's when he decided to fight the fire

39:42surrounding his community. Fortunately, there were a handful of people who stayed in the neighborhood

39:47and helped to knock out the fires at the market. Yep, the church got it too. Meanwhile,

39:53up in Northern California, the so-called campfire, already the most destructive in the state's history,

39:59taking another tragic turn. 14 additional bodies were located, which brings our total number to 23.

40:07The small town of Paradise, located north of Sacramento, is nearly gone. We're just on

40:12in survival mode right now. After losing everything, Emerald Mayfield is grateful for the support from

40:18strangers. We found her at the Red Cross Donation Center. Thank you. You know, all kinds of stuff that

40:25you need when you're all of a sudden overnight, don't have anything. As she begins picking up the pieces,

40:33Shane Clark is holding on to the gift of life. We had our four ultrasounds we've had so far,

40:38and they took him off the fridge. He says firefighters saved the first photos of his unborn child.

40:43It's a boy, yeah. A glimmer of hope in the midst of disaster.

40:50This is the Northern California town of Paradise, completely ravaged by a sudden, devastating wildfire.

40:56We lost everything, trailers, all our belongings.

40:59WILLIAM BRANGHAM, California Department of Paradise, California Department of Paradise,

40:59Fire officials say it began as a campfire that grew out of control and quickly burned several

41:05thousand structures in its path as it spread across Butte County, which is about 100 miles north of

41:11Sacramento. The fast-moving flames quickly forced officials to order the entire community of 27,000

41:17people to evacuate yesterday. Basically, the whole town is on fire right now.

41:22WILLIAM BRANGHAM, California Department of Paradise, California Department of Paradise,

41:22The smoke turning early afternoon into what seemed like pitch-black night.

41:28Panicked residents fled by car, only to find themselves stuck in chaotic traffic jams.

41:33There's definitely burning on all sides of us on the way out here.

41:37WILLIAM BRANGHAM, California Department of Paradise, California Department of Paradise,

41:37Some abandoned their vehicles and ran for their lives, as wind gusts up to 33 miles per hour fed the flames.

41:45But, today, officials said they have already found bodies among the burned-out cars.

41:49It looks like the fire came from the east and just came straight through town all the way to the west.

41:58Big-box stores, McDonald's, Safeway, other subways, buildings, offices all along Clark Road,

42:05completely engulfed or gone.

42:07Southbound from Fresno River Hospital on Pancers all blocked by fire.

42:11WILLIAM BRANGHAM, California Department of Paradise, California Department of Paradise,

42:12Tamara Ferguson, a nurse at a nearby hospital, shared this video as the fire closed in,

42:17trapping staff and patients inside. In a Facebook post, she wrote her goodbye to her family and friends.

42:25Fortunately, local police were able to evacuate the hospital soon after,

42:29rescuing every patient and staffer, including Ferguson.

42:34So far, the fires burned more than 70,000 acres, and new evacuations were ordered today.

42:41State officials described catastrophic losses and said rescue efforts were ongoing.

42:46The magnitude of the destruction that we are seeing is really, again, unbelievable,

42:52and fire weather conditions are extreme, and we are seeing it from literally border to border.

42:57WILLIAM BRANGHAM, California, 60-mile-an-hour gusts from intense Santa Ana winds

43:03have fueled what began as two small brush fires into fast-moving flames that quickly scorched a combined

43:1020,000 acres. The two blazes, the Woolsey and Hill fires, are continuing to tear through forests and

43:17communities about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles. They have burned around 75 homes and forced residents

43:24to flee as the flames push toward the Pacific Ocean.

43:26It's just devastating. What you take for granted every day, being able to come home and rest your head

43:32on a bed, it's gone. Just before dawn today, the Woolsey fire jumped a major artery here, Highway 101,

43:40forcing new evacuation orders for the entire beachside community of Malibu and its 13,000 residents.

43:47We ask that our community members heed our direction and warning, leave early.

43:54Each of our communities should be ready to pack up and leave at a moment's notice.

43:58WILLIAM BRANGHAM, California, 67,000 라디오ernin'

43:59Alaska Raceway, California, South Dakota, and East Coast.

43:59Along the border of Ventura and Los Angeles counties, more than 75,000 homes are under evacuation orders.

44:06That includes the city of Thousand Oaks, still reeling from the mass shooting, where 12 people

44:11were killed by a gunman at a local bar on Wednesday night. Today, fire crews tried to put out the flames

44:18in what remained of homes. Across the two counties, more than 3,000 firefighters are struggling to

44:25to contain the fires, in what's been described as horrific conditions of heavy winds and

44:31low humidity. Both are expected to last into next week.

44:36Tonight, Santa Ana winds back with a vengeance, giving the Woolsey fire more strength, spreading

44:42flames across Southern California.

44:44How crazy is that?

44:47Louise Coran and Kirk Felgenhauer, astonished by how fast it's happening.

44:51A whole area would be on fire, like, in minutes.

44:54From the ocean to the valley, the fire continues its path of destruction.

45:00It was a wall of flames that came through. I just ran in the house and watched from the

45:04windows.

45:06Firefighters putting their own lives on the line, racing through the firestorm to protect

45:10homes. Attacks from the air and on the ground. Fatigued firefighters are working around the

45:19clock.

45:20How are you doing?

45:21Yeah, we're tired, but this is what we're doing.

45:2466 in Los Angeles, mobilizing in minutes to knock down flare-ups before moving out.

45:29We're trying to get control of them so they don't throw any embers and the fire spreads.

45:33These spot fires are popping up all over, but it doesn't take long for these firefighters

45:37to arrive on the scene.

45:39The dynamic and dangerous situation changing lives overnight. Shane Clark lost his Bell Canyon

45:45home while hosing down his dad's place.

45:48He saved my house.

45:50But the family is alive.

45:53It's a boy.

45:54And Shane managed to keep the one thing that's giving them all hope, ultrasound pictures of

45:59his unborn son.

46:00She's five months pregnant, and it's very nice to be able to still have.

46:04Proof of life and hope during a very dark time.

46:10The death toll in California's raging wildfires has jumped to at least 23, after the charred

46:16remains of over a dozen more people were discovered late Saturday.

46:20Officials say the bodies were recovered in and around Paradise, a mountain community 90

46:25miles north of Sacramento.

46:27The victims were burned so badly, it's made identification difficult.

46:32The so-called campfire has burned more than 6,700 homes and businesses in the area, more

46:37than any other California wildfire on record.

46:40As of right now, it's at 105,000 acres, 20% contained.

46:46Cost to date is approximately 8,089,294.

46:53The death toll, which could still rise, also makes it one of the deadliest.

46:58Police say several of the bodies discovered earlier this week were found in or near burnt

47:03out cars.

47:04You know, there's people running out of their cars, and the fire is so close that I wasn't

47:10going to go to it.

47:12So I got out of there with my life, and I feel thankful, and mainly it's my kids.

47:15I lost everything, but things can be replaced, but kids can't.

47:20An additional 35 people have been reported missing, and three firefighters have been hurt.

47:26Just 500 miles south, the Woolsey fire near Malibu has also continued to rage on, doubling

47:31in size overnight and threatening thousands of homes.

47:34I'm surrounded by fire.

47:36A quarter million people are under mandatory evacuation orders, among them celebrities like

47:41Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian.

47:44President Donald Trump weighed in on the emergency during his trip to France, saying early Saturday

47:49that gross mismanagement of forests was to blame.

47:54The lethal Santa Ana winds are returning to Southern California.

47:58Firefighters working round the clock trying to dampen down smouldering land that's threatening

48:03to reignite.

48:07Thousands of acres of land have been burnt to a cinder.

48:09Hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed.

48:12Whole communities wrecked in the most lethal wildfire storm since records began.

48:18More than 8,000 firefighters are now deployed fighting three wildfires.

48:24Amongst them, engine company 279.

48:27They just really get going and it becomes a full-on fire again.

48:29Anything that's smoking can get going again, yeah.

48:31Wow.

48:32We spent the day with them as they searched for potential flare-ups.

48:37Here, burning fractured gas mains, a problem they can't solve.

48:46What can you do?

48:46I was hoping I could see a valve, but it looks like that's destroyed, so it's just an open

48:51pipe.

48:52There's nothing we can do right now.

48:53We need some kind of specialists.

48:54So you get the gas people to come and look at it for you?

48:56Hopefully, yes, sir.

48:57Yeah.

48:58There's a mandatory evacuation order in Malibu, and most people have gone.

49:02Searching for the next potential fire is nerve-wracking stuff.

49:08This team has been here from the very start of the fastest-moving wildfire they have ever

49:13seen.

49:14The houses are going up, everything.

49:15The houses are going up, big amber casts, and that's what's igniting the houses.

49:21Every time there's a gust of wind, the amber cast and whatever's burning is carrying that

49:24a mile down the road and igniting it ahead quicker than we could get there.

49:29And the winds were going fast as well, right?

49:30Oh, yeah.

49:31It was hours, yeah.

49:34The scale of the damage, and to some of the most expensive properties in the world, will

49:38cost billions to sort out.

49:41What really strikes you is the randomness of the firestorm.

49:45This house is in really good condition.

49:47In fact, it's barely been touched.

49:49We're in Malibu, one of the richest areas of this part of California.

49:52This is a beautiful house.

49:54You come up to the front door, though, you'll see that once you get past the metal, absolutely

50:01nothing is left.

50:02Completely and utterly destroyed, and this house was worth millions and millions of dollars.

50:11Yeah, it kept on going, and it kept going across, down the hill.

50:16Organic farmer Kerry Clasby tried to fight the flames from her roof.

50:21This picture was taken moments before she simply had to give up.

50:26She's lost her personal possessions, but her business remains.

50:30And then the wind shifted, and it was like, I knew.

50:33I was right at that moment.

50:35We're done.

50:36We're toast.

50:37And I remember yelling, Caesar!

50:39And he came up, and we both looked at each other, and we knew we had to evacuate.

50:45And we didn't even have to evacuate.

50:46We just stood there and watched everything burn down.

50:50The weather forecasts are not good.

50:52The winds are expected to blow for a few more days.

50:55The fight to control the fires will continue, but there's only so much they can actually

51:00do.

51:02It's already America's deadliest wildfire in a century, and even as the National Guard

51:07continues to fight to bring it under control from the air, the story on the ground gets

51:12much worse.

51:13Water's away.

51:14Fuel return.

51:15Yeah, good copy.

51:16Fuel return.

51:17Performed by Julia.

51:19As the fire rages on, the job of picking through what's left behind in the town of Paradise

51:24has grown in scale.

51:26Hundreds are listed as missing, and the likelihood is that they're a long way from knowing the

51:30true cost of this fire.

51:32The chaos that we were dealing with was extraordinary.

51:36And so now we're trying to go back and make sure that we're accounting for all of the information.

51:43There is the possibility that there are duplicate entries, and by way of example, the detectives

51:47talked about the fact that you might have a person who called in to report, you know,

51:54Mr. Smith, spelled S-M-I-T-H, and someone else might say S-M-Y-T-H.

52:00It's hard to believe anyone could have survived this.

52:03The hope is that some did escape, but have simply failed to make contact.

52:08And family members have been asked to give DNA samples to help with identification.

52:13Ninety percent of Paradise was lost to a fire that gave little warning, and there are growing

52:18questions about the city's evacuation plan.

52:22Donald Trump's Interior Secretary promised answers.

52:26This is not a Republican or Democrat issue.

52:28This is an American issue, and we should address it as such.

52:33But it's going to take working together from the community all the way up to the federal

52:36government and making sure that we do active forest management.

52:40We prioritize infrastructure, public safety, roads, the evacuation, and work together as

52:46a team.

52:47Oh, my God, guys, there's a fire.

52:48This is what people are living with, another evacuation from another fire here.

52:52Where are the keys to the truck?

52:55One brought quickly under control, but for those in its midst, terrifying, life-threatening,

53:01and far too familiar.

53:03President Trump surveyed the destruction caused by the campfire and pledged to help rebuild

53:08communities left in ruins in Northern California.

53:11To see what's happened here, nobody would have ever thought this could have happened.

53:17So the federal government is behind you.

53:20Emotions ran high as hundreds of displaced residents waited in long lines to meet with

53:25FEMA officials Saturday.

53:27The president's visit received mixed reviews.

53:29He'll come in and try to take credit after he's insulted the firefighters, the police,

53:35the military, handicapped women.

53:37I'm happy he's coming, and I think it'll add some brightness to a lot of people.

53:41The Butte County Sheriff estimates that the fire destroyed 9,000 homes.

53:46I see devastation.

53:47It's gone.

53:48Oh, my God.

53:49It's my childhood right here.

53:50We were with Eric Smith when he went to check and see if the deadly fire spared his mother's

53:56house.

53:57Some of his relatives are among the more than 1,000 still missing.

54:00You see the numbers of missing, and that's a lot of elderly people here.

54:07Hundreds of people left homeless and living in tents in a Walmart parking lot are facing

54:11more misery.

54:13Heavy rains are expected next week, which could trigger flash floods and mudslides in areas

54:18where the fire is scorched by the wildfires.

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