The town of Paradise, Calif. in the Sierra Nevada foothills just north of Sacramento, best known for its deep canyons, the Feather River and a legendary story about a 19th century saloon, was ravaged in fire.
By Friday morning, a day after the fire broke out at Pulga Road at Camp Creek Road, firefighters said about 80 percent of the town, population 26,000 was lost.
The latest Cal Fire numbers showed that the Camp Fire had burned 70,000 acres, up from 20,000 the day before. The fire was 5 percent contained. And in the first official report of fatalities, the Butte County Sheriff tweeted that investigators found five dead bodies. All of the people were found dead in their cars, that were "overcome by the Camp Fire," the sheriff said. The death toll is expected to rise, official said.
California Office of Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci said at a Friday news conference that 52,000 people had been evacuated in Northern California.