Mayor of Paradise, Calif., surveys devastation left by Camp Fire

PARADISE, Calif. (KGO) -- The road through Paradise in Northern California's Butte County is now lined with scenes of apocalyptic destruction and jarring signs of sheer terror and panic.

RELATED: Eerie video shows burned, abandoned cars after thousands fled Butte County wildfire

Abandoned cars line roadways. There are trucks and even a school bus among them. Some ran off the road or smashed into one another as drivers tried to escape the wall of flames.

Now we know that at least nine people have died.

Though the wind-driven flames have moved past Paradise, what they left in their wake is devastating.

VIDEO: Firenado whips around Camp Fire in Butte County

In every direction, left and right, street after street, the homes are gone and so are most of the businesses.

"The town's devastated," said Paradise Mayor Jody Jones. "We're grateful that we got people out as quickly as we did yesterday, but we have a lot to do, to rebuild."

Mayor Jones and Councilman Steve Crowder surveyed what was left of their town, trying to keep an eye toward the future amid so much darkness.

"This is my business here and we're working to head over and see how our house is, I don't know if that survived," Crowder said. "About 80 percent of the houses in town are gone, and our downtown is devastated. This fire took everything. It wasn't a section, it was town-wide."

PHOTOS: Deadly Camp Fire burns through Butte County, California

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In this aerial photograph, an evacuee encampment is seen at a Walmart parking lot in Chico, California on November 19, 2018.

Josh Edelson for the Washington Post

See more stories, photos and videos on the Camp Fire in Butte County.