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California wildfires: Satellite photo shows Paradise, Magalia burning

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camp fire california satellite image nasa 8nov2018
A
satellite view of Paradise, California, on November 8,
2018.


NASA
Earth Observatory



  • The Camp Fire is now the most destructive and deadliest
    California wildfire in the
    state’s history.
  • It scorched the entire town of Paradise, which was home
    to about 27,000 people.
  • Satellites orbiting the Earth took pictures of Paradise
    and the nearby town of Magalia before the fire hit and while
    the area burned.

Paradise used to be a small town in the foothills of California’s
Sierra Nevada mountains with a population of about 27,000 people.
That is,
until Friday
.

Within about 24 hours after the Camp Fire broke out, practically
all of Paradise had burned to the ground, along with much of a
nearby town called Magalia.

Below are two satellite views of Paradise and Magalia, where
about 11,000 people were
living. The towns are located about 100 miles north of Sacramento
(California’s capital city). The northern flank of Paradise is
shown on the bottom-left of each picture, and Magalia at the
center.

The first image, in which everything appears normal, was
taken by the commercial satellite imaging company DigitalGlobe on
September 10. The second picture was taken from space on Friday,
right as the Camp Fire was
tearing through the region
. (Click and drag the slide bar up
and down to compare the two photos.)

 

“We started with nothing once, and we can do it again,” Paradise
resident Eleanor Southwick, 78,
told INSIDER’s Kelly McLaughlin on Friday
. “We still have our
family and friends and that’s the thing that’s important.”

Some who lived in the area hope to return and rebuild, but other
families have not been so lucky.

So far the wildfire has killed at least 42 people, some of them
inside or near cars as they tried to flee. 


paradise california camp fire wildfire burned cars road stephen lam reuters 2018 11 09T221308Z_851036266_RC1741A3FA90_RTRMADP_3_CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES.JPG
The
Camp Fire left behind burned cars on the side of a road in
Paradise, California.


Stephen
Lam/Reuters



The sheriff’s office in Butte County (in which Magalia and
Paradise are located) reportedly estimated on Monday that
228 people from the area are
still missing.


paradise california camp fire wildfire burned car home trees reuters 2018 11 13T110057Z_1_LYNXNPEEAC0OP_RTROPTP_4_CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES.JPG
A
burned car in Paradise, California.


Sharon
Bernstein/Reuters



The Camp Fire began mid-week as a relatively small dozen-acre
blaze. But 50 mph gusts of wind in
unseasonably warm, dry weather
blew its hot embers far and
wide. At one point, the fire was expanding at a rate of about
80 football fields per minute.

By Tuesday morning, the wildfire had gobbled up more than 125,000
acres of land, more than 6,500 homes, and 260 businesses.


paradise california camp fire wildfire burned homes trees stephen lam reuters 2018 11 12T012636Z_1346440195_RC1751235E10_RTRMADP_3_CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES.JPG
Wreckage
from the Camp Fire in Paradise, California.


Stephen
Lam/Reuters



This makes the Camp Fire the most destructive and most deadly
wildfire California’s recorded history.

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