New study finds many Calif. communities don't have adequate wildfire evacuation routes

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- We now have a clearer picture of our state's wildfire danger after a new report was published that says several California communities don't have adequate wildfire evacuation routes.

The analysis by USA Today looked at conditions evacuees in Paradise found themselves in when trying to escape the Camp Fire last year. There were 27,000 residents caught in a nightmare traffic jam trying to get out of town.

USA Today found 350,000 Californians live in areas very similar to Paradise. Those areas have the same number of fire escape lanes and the communities are under high wildfire risk.

Many are located in the California foothills, suburban pockets of Southern California, and small mountain towns in Northern California.