Wildfire devastates California towns

An explosive wildfire is wreaking death and destruction on Northern California communities. The so-called Carr Fire has killed a bulldozer operator and a firefighter, burned three more firefighters, destroyed dozens of homes, and forced thousands of terrified residents to flee the towns of Shasta and Keswick, and the more populated city of Redding. The fire is “taking down everything in its path,” California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) spokesman Scott McLean said. “Really we’re in a life-saving mode right now in Redding,” said Jonathan Cox, battalion chief with Cal Fire. “We’re not fighting a fire. We’re trying to move people out of the path of it because it is now deadly and it is now moving at speeds and in ways we have not seen before in this area.”