California was last night bracing itself for more devastation as ‘devil winds’ were predicted to fan the flames of the fires which have ripped through the state and claimed at least 25 lives.
Weather forecasters warned residents to expect ‘nothing but bad news’ as the most destructive fires in the state’s history continued to rage across almost 400 square miles in tinder-dry areas.
At least 110 people are still missing after around 250,000 people had to flee their homes.
Total destruction: Wildfire rages through a home in the mega rich enclave of Malibu
The town of Paradise in northern California, was destroyed in the fire which started last Thursday. A mobile DNA lab has been requested to help identify the dead. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said: ‘The only remains we are able to find are bones or bone fragments’.
Posters are being shared across social media with pictures of relatives who have not been seen since the fires broke out. Another blaze swept into the affluent southern beach resort of Malibu on Friday and soon doubled in size – killing at least two people.
Celebrities including actor Martin Sheen, reality star Kim Kardashian and singers Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus were all caught up in the fire and took to social media to share news about the devastation. Yesterday heart-rending stories emerged of individual tragedies across the state.
It was reported that one woman, who had delayed leaving to put make up on, was among the dead in Paradise. A video, shared on social media, showed a man driving through shells of burnt out cars in Paradise.
Before: The Barnett family’s eldest two girls outside their home in Paradise, California
After: What now remains of it. Weather forecasters warned residents to expect ‘nothing but bad news’ as the most destructive fires in the state’s history continued to rage across almost 400 square miles in tinder-dry areas
‘So this is what driving through hell is like?,’ he wrote. In the five days that the fire has raged, almost no one has been back and most do not know if their homes still stand.
For now, they wait for news at the closest evacuation point ten miles from home. When Leonora Webber, 84, an ex-civil servant, got the call on Thursday morning to evacuate she was told she had two minutes to leave. She took medication, a set of clothes and her crocheting bag – thinking she might be able to knit herself a blanket.
Over the years, she has made dozens for those in need. Decades ago, Mrs Webber evacuated her home in the earthquake near Los Angeles. Then, neighbouring houses were flattened but hers was still standing – although everything in it reduced to rubble. She is hoping her luck may come round again and that her precious crystal glasses have survived.
Devastated: A couple return home to find it reduced to charred rubble in Malibu, California
Wall of flame: One of the wildfires fuelled by strong winds sweeps through a mansion in Malibu
Mrs Webber had lived in the spot since 1991, escaping in a car with her partner Betty Leroy, 85, by rolling down the hill in neutral because they were almost out of petrol. ‘I feel complete devastation. We have lost everything,’ she said.
The pair are reduced to sleeping in their car with the boot filled with dirty washing.
In the south of the state, at least two died in another fire near Malibu. Around 8,000 firefighters have been dispatched across the two blazes. In Butte County, the high winds mean the fire could gain yet more ground. Sometimes, ash falls from the sky, leaves on the ground are singed and the sun covered by smoke.
Jarrett Barnett, a 32-year-old software engineer, did not have time to think when he bundled his four children into the car. His girls, all aged under eight, have just a few toys with them. He expected to be back within a few days when, at 7am, his daughters rushed into his room and said: ‘The sky is orange’.
Unable to return himself, he asked a relative in the emergency services to take a picture of his home. On his phone he has a video of his children Cordelia, 8, Evangileen, 6, Genevieve, 2, and Lovenia, 18 months.
Evacuation: Blackened skies frame a line of cars heading away from the fires
The oldest two can be seen skipping around outside their beautiful home. Today, in the same spot, the scene is one of complete desolate. All that remains is rubble and the shells of blackened trees. ‘The thing my wife and I keep saying is we just want to go home… to have a place to go.
‘To see the picture of it was very heart-breaking…To lay in bed and mentally walk through your house… Imagine walking through every bit of your house knowing you won’t ever see it again,’ Mr Barnett said. Asked about returning to Paradise, he said: ‘I am quite certain the town will probably never recover.
‘It is extremely overwhelming…It is hard to know what to do next.’
Rosalyn Roberts, 72, only had time to take the thing she cared about the most, her dog Princess, six. To keep herself and the Chihuahua-cross busy, the retired secretary, 72, has been walking around the car park six times a day.
‘Paradise has pine trees, blue skies and dustings of snow in winter,’ she said. ‘Now, the sun can’t get through the smoke. The first few days, there was no sun – it was as black as night,’ she added.
Louise Branch, 93, lived in Paradise alone and had done for 35 years. Although she uses a walker to get around, she managed to drive herself out after hearing about the blaze on the radio. ‘That fire did not care where it went though,’ she said.