An incredibly dangerous wildfire has exploded to life in Northern California. The Camp Fire has spurred numerous evacuations in Butte County as it races across the landscape.

The fire was first reported at 6:30 a.m. PT, and grew to at least 5,000 acres in three hours. California’s state fire agency reported the fire is “very dynamic” and that ‘[s]trong winds are moving the fire quickly.” The official estimate of acreage burned is almost certainly on the low end, as the fire is spreading at an astonishing 80 acres per minute. Smoke from the blaze is already descending on the Bay Area some 150 miles away.

In addition to powerful winds, humidity is in the single digits, drying out vegetation. That has created what Redding TV meteorologist Rob Elvington called “unprecedented” conditions for this time of year, providing ample fuel for the Camp Fire to run wild.

All this has led to a growing list of evacuations. Video depicting the evacuation shows traffic moving in a contraflow pattern, with cars flowing in one direction on both sides of the a highway to get people out of harm’s way and stalled traffic amidst a hellscape of smoke and flames.

Paradise, a town of 27,000, sits directly in the Camp Fire’s path. Its rapid growth and early-morning arrival means that residents didn’t have much time to leave or firefighters time to prepare, leaving them to play a game of catchup against an extremely active fire. And the gridlock coupled with the rapidly-growing fire has reportedly led some to abandon their vehicles and shelter in place. Meanwhile firefighters operating bulldozers have been authorized to push cars off the road to clear a path and try to beat back the flames. In short, this is a chaotic nightmare situation……more here