How father comforted young daughter as they drove through Californian bushfires

A video taken as a family was leaving a fire-ravaged town in California shows how a father has comforted his young daughter as they drove through the terrifying inferno.

Whitney Allen shared the video on Facebook shortly after the family fled from the town of Paradise, northeast of San Francisco.

The eerie footage is taken from inside a car as her husband Joe navigates slow moving traffic and shows the flames lapping at the side of the road as countless people try to evacuate, the New York Post reports.

Outside the car the orange haze makes it difficult to see, and embers can be seen flying past the windscreen. Inside the three-year-old, reportedly named Olivia, is raising concerns about the blaze.

But Mr Allen quickly reassures his young daughter that everything will be fine.

“Hey, guess what? We’re not gonna catch on fire, OK,” Mr Allen tells the three-year-old.

“We’re gonna stay away from it and we’ll be just fine, OK? We’re doing all right.”

In a soothing voice he then sings, “Baby, it’ll be all right.”

He keeps reassuring her they will get out of the danger as they are driving through the terrifying blaze.

And fortunately after some emergency vehicles pass their car they are able make their way through the worst of it.

The father then says to his daughter they are “out of it” and she can be heard rejoicing and telling her dad “you did it”.

Social media users have praised the father’s composure in the situation.

“Really great parent and it really brought tears to my eyes to hear how calm his father was,” a Facebook user wrote.

“I couldn’t imagine the fear of having to drive your kids through this,” said another.

“You’ve got Grit and grace! You got out of there and remained calm for your family! I’m so sorry for all that you lost, yet so happy to see that you got out of there safely!!” another person wrote.

• Pictures show devastation of Californian bushfires that killed at least 25

• ‘We were on our own’: Bushfire survivors reveal harrowing tales of escape

The video has been viewed more than 112,000 times on social media.

“More than likely we won’t be coming home to our house, and many others won’t be as well,” Mrs Allen wrote when she shared the footage online.

According to AFP, 6,700 homes, businesses and other buildings in the town of Paradise have been destroyed by the blaze.