‘We started with nothing once, and we can do it again:’ A grandmother forced to evacuate from Paradise, California, amid Camp Fire grapples with the decimation of her town

Eleanor Southwick, 78, evacuated Paradise as the devastating Camp Fire hit the northern California city on Thursday. The blaze has now grown to nearly 110 square miles (285 square kilometers) and caused the deaths of at least five people. Southwick fears her home was likely burned to the ground. A grandmother who has lived in Paradise, California, for more than two decades is grappling with the decimation of her city as Camp Fire makes its way through the town. Eleanor Southwick, 78, evacuated Paradise with her husband and dog on Thursday morning as news of the fire spread. Now the fire in Northern California has grown to nearly 110 square miles (285 square kilometers) and at least five people have been found dead by investigators, according to The Associated Press. Southwick, who fled to a relative’s home in Chico, fears her home may have been burned to the ground. “When we were still there and you could see the clouds around us, it was like leaving hell because it was red,” Southwick told INSIDER. “I think that was the most astounding part of this fire… Everything was right for the perfect storm.” She and her husband have lived in Paradise for the last 18 years, in addition to seven years in the 1980s. They fled with just suitcases and left behind family heirlooms, including a chest belonging to her great-grandfather. Read more:A raging wildfire has burned the town of Paradise, California to the ground The evacuation set off a mass… [Read full story]