Phillip Bergman was flying from Dallas to his home in Fresno, California, on Thursday when he looked out the window and saw smoke from the Creek Fire over the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Bergman, who works in video production, said he’s used to flying over the mountain range, but it doesn’t usually look this way.
“It was very strange and sad to see the mountain range shrouded in all that smoke,” Bergman wrote. “I like to hike a lot so going up into the mountains is a lot of fun for me, and now that it’s all burning down, things won’t be the way they use to be for quite a while.”
At least eight dead in West Coast fires
From CNN’s Joe Sutton and Jon Passantino
The unprecedented wildfires that continue to cause havoc on the West Coast have claimed the lives of at least eight people.
According to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, authorities discovered one fatality Wednesday in the burn area near Happy Camp, California.
The Slater Fire is burning in that area.
Camp for kids with cancer damaged in California wildfire
From CNN’s Cheri Mossburg
A woodsy getaway camp for kids with cancer has been damaged in Northern California.
The Okizu Camp for pediatric cancer patients and their families is yet another casualty of the wildfires scarring California as the Bear Fire, part of the North Complex, burned through the area.
“We are heartbroken to let you know that we were notified today that there has been significant fire damage to our beloved Camp Okizu at Berry Creek,” Executive Director Suzie Randall posted on the organization’s website.
Camp Okizu hosts about 700 kids each year, along with their siblings and parents, giving them a respite from hospitals and doctor appointments. It is not yet clear if anything is left of the camp, which had a large lodge, 32 cabins, an extensive ropes course, and an infirmary to care for campers undergoing chemotherapy or those that might need blood draws.
Board Member Hanna Malak has been visiting the camp since he was eight years old, when his older brother had leukemia.
“There are definitely a lot of memories made there, but the magic of Okizu is the people,” Malak said.
“It is devastating,” Malak said of the destruction. “I think I’m going through the stages of loss and feel like I’m still in denial. It’s still hard to believe, but we are staying positive and are especially thankful no one was hurt.”
The threat of Covid-19 among a population of campers with compromised immune systems has left the camp empty during what would otherwise be a busy summer season.
“Our hearts have been in our throats all day, and we’ve been following every news report, hoping against hope for a miracle,” the organization said in a news release. “There is nothing we can possibly say except that Okizu is a family, and as in any family, it is the people who matter most. We each carry Okizu within us, and that is something no fire can destroy.”