"The Speed and Ferocity of the Fire Was Too Much"

(Image from Chico Enterprise-Record)

One of the most jarring images to come out of the Paradise fire was that of burned-out vehicles along the road.

The fire came upon fleeing residents so quickly that they had to abandon their stuck cars. In the safety of our living rooms it makes as much sense as jumping out of a burning building. God help everyone who is faced with such a choice.

Another jarring fact: Paradise had a disaster plan: [bold added]

Following those fires — part of what Cal Fire still refers to as the “2008 siege” — city leaders began working on an evacuation plan. They broke up neighborhoods into geographic zones that, in the event of a wildfire, would be cleared one at a time to avoid gridlock. There are few roads in and out of Paradise.

With about 27,000 residents, the town also went through the unusual exercise of holding mock evacuations during morning rush hour, closing some streets and turning a major two-way road into one way to let people practice getting out fast....

Bill Stewart, the co-director of Berkeley Forests, a wildfire and forest research department at the University of California, Berkeley, said Paradise had “about the most advanced level of planning I’ve heard of,” but the speed and ferocity of the fire was too much.

“It overwhelmed the town,” said Stewart.

The pictures told us with absolute certainty that a reported fact on Thursday night was not true: the death toll was five (5).