California wildfires Survivors share stories of heroic rescues
In northern parts of the state, some displaced residents survived the raging fire by wading through a reservoir to reach a remote island.
A nurse in the destroyed town of Paradise drove his lorry through flames to rescue patients from hospital. Some volunteers have offered to house ill or elderly residents among the thousands displaced by the fire.
The Camp Fire, which has claimed at least 88 lives, is the deadliest wildfire in the state’s history, and has led to the complete destruction of the town of Paradise. More than 100 of the town’s 27,000 residents – many in their 80s or 90s – are still missing.
‘I couldn’t leave him behind’
A 93-year-old World War Two veteran, who fled his home in Paradise by driving his own car, was taken in by a couple who met him while distributing hamburgers to displaced residents.
Tracy Grant said the veteran, Lee Brundige, refused an offer to stay in her home and instead slept in his vehicle after she made sure to give him blankets and a pillow.
“I didn’t like leaving him there, but he’s very independent,” she said, adding that they are “positive” that this home, which was designed by Mr Brundige’s late wife, has been destroyed.
But as smoke moved closer to Oroville, about 11 miles (18km) south of the fire, she insisted that he move in with her and her boyfriend.
“He can stay with us as long as he would like,” she said.