Glimpse inside California's fiery hell

Forty confirmed dead. More than 400 still missing. Seventy-seven cell towers damaged and down. More than 5,700 homes and businesses totally destroyed. Uncounted numbers of domestic animals and livestock killed. Thousands of vehicles destroyed. More than 22,000 people were evacuated from the path of the roaring flames over 103,000 acres.

Lives gone. Lives ruined.

The statistics are changing as I write this. No one knows what the final count will be. The search for bodies is hampered by the terrible destructiveness of the flames.

The flames were not partial. Everyone was a victim – rich people and poor – famous and not. It doesn't matter. The home and memorabilia of Charles Schultz, the creator of "Peanuts," was destroyed. His wife escaped safely, as did the Schultz Museum.

That's California. Autumn wildfires are not unusual, but when it happens in this state, it often sets records. This one – or rather this cluster of more than 17 fires – is setting the most spectacular of records.

TRENDING: Georgia House passes 4 key election changes to ensure 2020 disaster never happens again

It was a fire that began with a spark from something, somewhere. In fact, it originated at more than 10 locations almost at the same time, 10 p.m. Sunday night.

Intentional or not, at this point, it's anyone's guess. But I have my suspicions. There's an effort to blame PG&E and its transmission lines, but that's too easy a target, a deep-pockets target at that.

But those sparks, added to the tinder dry brush and trees and fed and spread by those "devil winds" blowing and gusting at more than 75 miles an hour, created the firestorms that jumped highways and bridges and roared through residential areas, businesses, hotels, resorts, vineyards, farms and woodlands with a ferocity that even firefighters said they'd never seen before.

It isn't one fire. It's 17 different fires spread over Northern California counties, encompassing the beautiful wine country and agricultural land as well as bucolic communities. Nothing was safe, not homes, hospitals, schools, libraries, churches, vehicles – whatever was in the path of the flames.

There were – are – more than 8,000 firefighters from across the country and also Canada and Australia on the ground, in vehicles, planes and helicopters. The governor declared a state of emergency.

Air quality in the entire Northern California Area is affected. By mid-week, everything – even miles away – smelled of smoke.

The smoke was so thick, it affected the ability of pilots to fly through the fire area, and the wind caused much of the fire repellent dropped to just blow away.

The smoke affected flights in and out of Oakland, San Francisco and other area airports, causing a multitude of delays.

Schools were closed because of the terrible air quality, and a whole variety of sporting and other events were canceled.

The sky was yellow, and the sunset on Wednesday was astonishing. The sun hung in the sky the color of a ripe orange. It looked like a full harvest moon in the daytime – except it was the sun. I'd never seen anything like that, and people I talked to about it, considered it ominous. And, indeed, it seemed to be.

Californians knew as we moved into October that the annual "fire season" was about to begin. There were the usual warnings from fire districts about being careful with sparks from equipment, avoiding any burning and certainly no tossing lit cigarette butts.

Outsiders would not be aware of the other and most dangerous issue during this seasonal fire season – the deadly "Santa Ana winds," as they're called in Southern California – or "devil winds," as they're called in Northern California. It happens every year. Hot, dry winds swirl in from the inland deserts, sucking all moisture from the air and vegetation – leaving a perfect scenario for fire and devastation that is astonishing.

It's nothing new. It's been going on for centuries – part of the seasons here. What's different now is that the area is filled with people, our structures and the civilization we've created.

Nature doesn't care. When it's hot and dry and windy and there's a spark – the result is a flame-ravaged scenario. That's what we're going through now, and it's not over yet.

This wildfire is the most deadly in California history – more than the Griffith Park fire of the 1930s, greater than the massive Bel Air fire in Los Angeles in the 1960s, greater than the horrendous Oakland Hills fire of 1991, or the cedar fire in San Diego in 2003 or the witch fire, also in San Diego, in 2007.

I remember the Bel Air fire – the first California fire I'd ever seen. It was horrendous, and it ravaged Bel Air and Brentwood, destroying the homes of many of the rich and famous.

I remember that many people tossed their silver, china and jewelry into their swimming pools to save them. For them, those were the only things saved from flames.

In this fire, John and Jan Pascoe spent six hours submerged in a neighbor's pool, until the flames passed. They were able to sneak quick sniffs of air to survive, and they did.

In Santa Rosa, Carmen and Armando Berriz couldn't escape by car and finally submerged themselves in the pool of their rented vacation house as the flames roared around them, destroying everything.

They were there all night. He survived, badly burned. She died in his arms.

As the hours pass, the horror continues, as do the flames. The weekend dawned with more heat and strong winds. The result is more fire, destruction and death, with no end in sight.

God help us all.

Follow Barbara Simpson on Facebook.

Media wishing to interview Barbara Simpson, please contact [email protected].