'We were on our own': Bushfire survivors reveal harrowing tales of escape

Tales of harrowing escape and struggle to cope with loss have surfaced in the wake of Northern California bushfires.

In the days since a ferocious, wind-whipped bushfire began tearing through the town of Paradise, residents found their cars incinerated and homes reduced to rubble.

One of the victims of the fire was an ailing woman whose body was found in bed in a burnt house in Concow.

Ellen Walker, who was in her early 70s, was home alone and probably on medications when the massive fire struck the town of Paradise and surrounding communities on Thursday, according to Nancy Breeding.

Ms Breeding said Ms Walker’s husband Lon was at work and called a neighboor to tell his wife to evacuate, but it’s unclear whether she was alert at the time. He assumed she had escaped the inferno and was trying to find her at rescue centres when authorities confirmed her death late Friday.

“He didn’t know that she hadn’t got out,” Ms Breeding said.

“They were married for 20-something years. He’s having a difficult time accepting,” she said.

“This is a devastating thing, and it’s happening to so many people.”

‘Big tsunami’ destroyed Paradise California home

Cathy Fallon described the fire that destroyed her house as a “big tsunami.”

She stayed behind and was able to save her 14 horses and barn using a hose, but she lost her house and her husband wound up hospitalised the morning after the fire. He remained in hospital Saturday after fears he had had a heart attack. Two of her dogs and nine cats died in the fire.

“It was really scary when the rush of a huge amount of fire came up through the canyon at our house and barn,” she said.

“It’s a dangerous situation. I remember my son saying, ‘Hey! There’s no firefighters. We’re on our own here.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ We were definitely on our own.”

She and her son, Gabriel, were sleeping in the horse stall and had no power or water.

‘Surreal’: Farming town gutted by fire

Neighbours Courtenay Jenvey and Glen Walther ignored evacuation orders and fought the blaze with hoses. They were able to save their homes and two other homes, but all other houses for about a kilometre in all directions were smoldering foundations, they said.

“Surreal, that’s the best word I could describe it by,” said Mr Walther, who ventured out to see the neighbourhood on Saturday for the first time.

“I didn’t even want to go out, but when I did, by the time I was a quarter-mile down the road down there, I’m bawling like a cut calf.”

They also rescued a chocolate Labrador who had been left behind by its owner. The dog has been acting as a guard dog and has lifted their spirits, Ms Jenvey said.

Man thought he would die saving home from fire

Ms Jenvey said he thought he was going to die as he was fighting to save his house and at one point realised he had no choice but to stay — all his exits were blocked by flame. Leaves were catching fire and floating down onto roofs, and the howling fire sounded like a jetliner taking off, he said.

“It was pitch black, black as midnight,” he said, his eyes red-rimmed from exhaustion and smoke.

“We had active fire, sparks and embers hitting the roof, chunks of bark about a half-inch in diameter, flaming, that were hitting us. It was like rain, and so we were just hitting everything we could that started up as fast as we could with garden hoses.”

Shawna Howard, a Paradise resident, said she found out Saturday that her parents’ home didn’t survive the flames.

“You just sit here in a fog and think you’re going to wake up,” she said.

She recalled flames lining both sides of the roadway as she evacuated with her 12-year-old daughter.

“The heat, the heat was unreal,” she said.

“I was praying out loud the entire time.”