California is burning: Black Hawk aerial footage reveals charred landscape (VIDEO)
Harrowing footage filmed from a Black Hawk helicopter provides a sobering bird's-eye view of the deadly wildfire ravaging northern California. The inferno has killed more than 80 people, while hundreds still remain missing.
Smoke-filled skies and charred forrests are seen as the the US military chopper passes over Butte County, California, where an estimated 152,250 acres have been burned by a massive wildfire that began earlier this month.
Go inside a @TheCaGuard#UH60M Blackhawk helicopter as it battles the #CampFire in California. pic.twitter.com/uwQTQkIyEp
— U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) November 20, 2018
The UH-60M Black Hawk was crewed by members of the California National Guard, who have been assisting in efforts to contain the fire.
READ MORE: California ‘war zone’: 63 killed, 600+ missing in raging wildfires
The jaw-dropping clip illustrates the size and scope of the fire, which has destroyed 17,500 buildings, including more than 13,000 homes, so far. Ruptly published a longer version of the video last week.
Camp Fire is one of two blazes currently gripping California. Woolsey Fire in Southern California has claimed three lives and 1,500 structures.
More than 600 people are missing, and over 52,000 have been forced to evacuate the areas affected by the raging infernos.
About 75 percent of Camp Fire has been contained, but as the video footage shows, there's still plenty of work to be done.
Some of the state's more wealthy residents have even hired private firefighters to protect their homes. A number of insurance companies also have private fire-fighting teams, so as to minimize payouts.
California is no stranger to wildfires, but in recent years the infernos have grown in size and scope. Wildfire season used to be from June to September, but it's not even clear if the current fires will be fully contained by the end of November.
By September, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, CalFire, had already spent $431 million of its $443 million budget fighting earlier fires.
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