California Residents Flee Homes in Middle of Night as Raging Fires Wipe Out Whole Town

An entire town has been destroyed following a wildfire in California. 

Fire crews are battling blazes that have destroyed thousands of homes through the night in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. 

Inside Edition’s Jim Moret was on the scene in Thousand Oaks, just a day after a deadly shooting killed 12. He experienced firsthand how intense it was to battle the fire. 

“There's no way at all to save this house, and at this point firefighters aren't trying to do that," Moret said. "They're trying to keep this fire from spreading to homes around it. The winds are kicking up, it's so hard to see, my eyes are burning even with a mask on."

There were a lot of dangling live electrical wires through where Moret was, forcing him to be careful of where he walked. 

Thousands of residents fled in their cars to safer ground. “It's insane, it's so unfortunate. I've never seen it like this. It doesn't look like there's any end in sight either,” one resident told Inside Edition. 

Inside Edition’s Deborah Norville, who arrived in Thousand Oaks to report on the shooting, was staying in a hotel that was evacuated.

Northern California is also being hit hard. 

One woman was filmed praying as she fled in the family car. Seconds later, the smoke smoke cleared and the flames were gone.

Others weren't so lucky. The Golden State town of Paradise, which is just north of Sacramento, has been virtually wiped out. 

"Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed, it's that kind of devastation," Cal Fire Capt. Scott McLean said during a press conference. "The wind that was predicted came and just wiped it out."

Five people have died so far.

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