Shocking footage has captured a desperate family’s near-death experience after they drove through the heart of the California wildfire to escape the blazing inferno.
Brynn Parrott Chatfield filmed the moment her family sped through the fire in the town of Paradise, as flames and smoke billowed around the vehicle.
Brynn is heard saying a prayer as their vehicle drives through the blistering inferno before they safely emerged through the other side.
Brynn Parrott Chatfield filmed the moment her family sped through the fire in the town of Paradise
She is heard saying a prayer as their vehicle drives through the blistering inferno before thanking her husband Jeremy for being brave
At least nine people have died and 35 are missing in a wildfire in Northern California, while in Southern California thousands of homes are under threat and all of Malibu has been evacuated as two other fires bear down.
The Camp Fire in Northern California is now the most destructive in state history, after wiping out the town of Paradise. Authorities suspect it may have been started by a malfunction in power lines.
More than 300,000 people from across the state have been forced to flee their homes, as the fast moving flames from the three fires that all started on Thursday have raced to cover more than 200 square miles.
Whipped by the notorious Santa Ana winds gusting up to 60mph, the southern blazes have not yet killed or injured anyone, but have destroyed many homes and forced thousands to flee for their lives on short notice – including many celebrities who live in the wealthy coastal enclaves under threat.
Flames and smoke billowed around the vehicle as they made the terrifying drive in Northern California
But the family safely emerged through the other side after the tense journey
The larger of the two southern blazes, the Woolsey Fire, has scorched as least 35,000 acres north of Los Angeles since igniting near Rocketdyne at around 2pm local time Thursday, quickly spreading southwest toward Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks, the community still reeling from a mass shooting in a bar on Wednesday night.
The Camp Fire devastated the town of Paradise, where officials say nearly every structure has been razed by out-of-control flames and five people were found dead in burned out vehicles early Friday afternoon.
Officials said on Friday night that another four people had been killed by the Camp Fire and another 35 were missing. Three of the additional dead individuals were found outside their homes, and one inside a residence.
Three firefighters have been injured battling the northern blaze, out of 3,223 personnel currently involved in the containment efforts.
Their trip was made all the scarier after it was revealed five people had been burned alive in their cars
Police in Paradise said they had received two reports of looting but have yet to make any arrests. ‘It is despicable conduct,’ Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said of would-be looters, vowing swift arrest and maximum penalties.
When Paradise was evacuated, the order set off a desperate exodus in which many motorists got stuck in gridlocked traffic and abandoned their vehicles to flee on foot.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s Calabasas home, Caitlyn Jenner’s mansion in Malibu and even the famed Bachelor Mansion have been hit by the devastating wildfires overtaking Southern California.
The Woolsey Fire reached the Kardashian-West pad in the Hidden Hills neighborhood on Friday afternoon, according to TMZ.
At points, the car’s windshield was completely consumed by thick smoke, making it near impossible for Mr Chatfield to see
Around the same time reports emerged that Jenner’s 3,500 square foot, four-bedroom pad overlooking the Malibu beach was destroyed by fierce flames from the same blaze.
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga’s mansion nearby in Malibu was seen surrounded by a blanket of thick smoke as the wildfire overtook the beachside city before moving toward Oxnard.
Will Smith posted a video to his Instagram story expressing worry that his own home would be hit by the flames as the path of destruction continues.