Posted on 11/08/2018 9:50:17 PM PST by kingu
There have also been reports that the Feather River Hospital has been destroyed according to John Lord, Associate Director of the Sierra-Sacramento Vally EMS Agency via Mike Mangas of Mercy Medical Center.
Be advised we have received confirmation from units on the ground in Butte County that Feather River Hospital has been destroyed by fire, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at actionnewsnow.com ...
Fatalities: No official reports of loss of life, but hundreds of cars were burned on the roads leading out of Paradise, a number of people were trapped in the town as fire raged through, including hundreds who took shelter in a K-Mart and also a Walgreens. It would not surprise me if dozens have died.
It appears that the Feather River Hospital was destroyed, though for a time, persistent reports came out that only outbuildings were destroyed. It is possible both stories were true - initially only a few outbuildings were lost, then the entire hospital was destroyed as winds shifted.
Overall, this is a shockingly tragic event. Unfortunately, it is also something which might even get more tragic should high winds continue - Chico, like the little sister in the mountains, is also a town covered in very flammable trees.
But of course, another tragedy took place last night near Los Angeles which involved a gun, so it might be a week or so before you hear about this on your news... Meanwhile thousands more are being told to prepare to be evacuated.
The current evacuation list is here at this link:
https://www.actionnewsnow.com/content/news/Camp-Fire-Current-Evacuation-Orders—500060821.html
There’s a second huge fire just northwest of LA- the Woolsey Fire
Paradise Lost - Cal Fire Says Camp Fire Has Wiped Out California Town (https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/11/08/camp-fire-butte-county-paradise/)
Also reports of fire crossing Hwy 99, possible further threats to southern Chico.
Prayers up.
This is truly heartbreaking.
Terrifying- I hope the hospital had been fully evacuated?
Just damn.
Prayers - about all I can do from the Rockies at this time.
Arson?
Seems like its always some homeless lunatic starting fires out there.
Prayers up.
Just met my wife and her mom in Oroville after they barely escaped the fire on Pentz Rd. Passed at least one hundred fire rigs heading up to Paradise as we headed home to the Bay Area.
Worst part is there’s no firebreak around a heavy wooded town, north of there, in Magalia, large stands of pines have been killed by bark beetles in that town, and they only recently started removing trees, on average 1 a week.
It is like these towns were soaked in gasoline, just waiting for some spark to come along and destroy them. (of course, the fault here is the spark, not countless city councils who have made it nearly impossible to remove these deadly sources of fuel, even if they are surrounding homes...)
Prayers are all many families have left, and I dread what authorities will find when they check several lines of cars which burned up on the road in the midst of the fire, as I expect not everyone made it out of danger.
Thankfully, hospital administration had a definitive emergency plan should fire break out along what they considered critical evacuation routes (Pentz road being one of them.) It triggered a full and complete evacuation of all patients from the hospital (many transported in the cars of employees to Enloe (Chico) & Oroville Hospitals.)
Thousands waited for evacuation orders to come through, and many, well, too many, waited too long to evacuate, or worse, spent too long packing belongings before evacuating. The hospital evacuating should have been a key to residents to get out of town immediately, with whatever was easily at hand.
I transported a patient to SF for a procedure; we left SF around 10am, and smoke was already strong when we went across the tidal lands east of Visalia. At noon, there were huge convoys of fire trucks and CHP cars heading north along Hwy 70 through Marysville, it never seemed to let up.
My wife and I raised our three boys in Paradise. We left some 15 years ago. My father-in law lives there with his wife. They evacuated about 2:00 and got out safely.
Paradise is mostly a retirement community. So many old people probably did not get out in time. I fear the worst. Please pray for them all..
Here is another link on Paradise fire.
Here is another link on Paradise fire.
I saw James Woods’ twitter. He is posting emergency phone numbers and information on missing people that families are trying to locate.
https://mobile.twitter.com/RealJamesWoods
I can’t look at it too long or I’ll cry.
So sad.
https://www.actionnewsnow.com/
The home page has a live stream of local news, it is also a DVR, if you go back about 15-20 minutes, you’ll find video taken by residents who evacuated on Skyway out of Paradise at about 7pm tonight, and the near total destruction of all businesses along that road.
Horrible. We are about 40 miles West of Sacramento, well away from the affected area, yet by mid-day today the air was filled with smoke. Its a huge fire and a terrible flashback to the Sonoma/Napa fires of a year ago ... prayers for the safety of all those in the affected zone....
I’m hopeful that there’ll be more stories of miracle survivals and heroic rescues than stories of tragic loss of life.
Me too.
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