In Photos: Devastating Wildfires in California

The Camp Fire

The above satellite image was captured by an instrument onboard NASA's Suomi NPP satellite on Nov. 8. The red dots indicate actively burning fires.

(Image credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS))

In the early morning of Nov. 8, 2018, a wildfire broke out just outside Paradise, California, engulfing the town in black smoke. The town's 30,000 or so residents were quickly evacuated, according to NASA's Earth Observatory. The fire is a monster, consuming 20,000 acres of land in just a day, NASA reported. Because the fire, which is still spreading, erupted near Camp Creek Road near Highway 70 in Feather River Canyon, it has been dubbed the Camp Fire. Here's a look at the state's deadliest fire to date.

The above satellite image was captured by an instrument onboard NASA's Suomi NPP satellite on Nov. 8. The red dots indicate actively burning fires.

From above

Active wildfires from the deadly Camp Fire in northern California are visible in this shortwave infrared view from DigitalGlobe's WorldView-3 satellite taken on Nov. 9, 2018.

(Image credit: Satellite image Copyright 2018 DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company.)

Active wildfires from the deadly Camp Fire in northern California are visible in this shortwave infrared view from DigitalGlobe's WorldView-3 satellite taken on Nov. 9, 2018.

Where is the wildfire?

This annotated DigitalGlobe image overlays location information on a view of the deadly Camp Fire in northern California taken Nov. 9, 2018 by the WorldView-3 satellite.

(Image credit: Satellite image Copyright 2018 DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company.)

This annotated DigitalGlobe image overlays location information on a view of the deadly Camp Fire in northern California taken Nov. 9, 2018 by the WorldView-3 satellite.

Impenetrable smoke

Thick smoke from California's Camp Fire obscures the Earth's surface as the wildfire burned on Nov. 9, 2018. This image was taken by DigitalGlobe's WorldView-3 satellite.

(Image credit: Satellite image Copyright 2018 DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company.)

Thick smoke from California's Camp Fire obscures the Earth's surface as the wildfire burned on Nov. 9, 2018. This image was taken by DigitalGlobe's WorldView-3 satellite.

Hill Fire

The Hill Fire CA

(Image credit: Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register/Getty)

The Hill Fire burns in the hills west of Conejo Center Drive in Thousand Oaks, California, on Nov 8, 2018.

LA rages

the woolsey fire

(Image credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty)

A Los Angeles County firefighter looks on as the raging Woolsey Fire explodes behind a house in the West Hills neighborhood on Nov. 9, 2018. About 75,000 homes had been evacuated in Los Angeles and Ventura counties due to two fires in the region.

Burning Paradise

the camp fire

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty)

Embers blow in the wind as the Camp Fire burns a KFC restaurant on Nov. 8, 2018, in Paradise, California. The rapidly spreading wildfire, fueled by high winds and low humidity, has ripped through the town of Paradise, and as of Nov. 13, it had charred 130,000 acres and destroyed dozens of homes in a matter of hours. The Camp Fire, as of Nov. 13, is just 35 percent contained.

Spooked horses

the woolsey fire

(Image credit: Matthew Simmons/Getty)

Horses are spooked as the Woolsey Fire, northwest of Los Angeles, moves through the property on Cornell Road near Paramount Ranch on Nov. 9, 2018, in Agoura Hills, California. The fire, which started on the same day as the Camp Fire, is threatening Malibu and Thousand Oaks.

Fire tornado

the woolsey fire

(Image credit: Erick Madrid/Zuma)

A massive fire tornado coils up a hill as the Woolsey Fire inches closer to a home in North Malibu as it moves closer to the Pacific Coast Highway on Nov. 9, 2018. As of Nov. 13, two people had died in the Woolsey fire, which is just 40 percent contained.

Malibu plume

the woolsey fire

(Image credit: David McNew/Getty)

In Malibu, strong winds fueled this massive smoke plume above the Woolsey Fire on Nov. 9, 2018. As of Nov. 13, the fire had burned through Venture County and charred more than 97,000 acres. According to the New York Times, the firefighters think they are "getting the upper hand."

From above

California wildfires Nov. 9, 2018

(Image credit: Mark J. Terril/AP/Rex/Shutterstock)

In this aerial view from a helicopter above Santa Monica, California, flames move toward the Pacific Ocean, on Nov. 9, 2018.

Jeanna Bryner
Live Science Editor-in-Chief

Jeanna served as editor-in-chief of Live Science. Previously, she was an assistant editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Jeanna has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland, and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.