The day after the Camp Fire tore through Paradise, forcing the evacuation of the nearly 30,000 in the small community in California’s Sierra Foothills, Randy Stump was still at home, just miles from the massive blaze.

Isolated and without cellphone service, he hadn’t realized how dire things had become. He heard the air tankers and saw the smoke, but like so many in the area, he didn’t know it was time to go until he saw the flames.

As he sped away with his brother and his dog, Ginger, he got a firsthand look at the destruction wrought by the fire, which has damaged Magalia and completely destroyed Paradise, leaving burned shells of schools, grocery stores and restaurants in its wake.

“It looked like Iraq,” he said, wiping tears from his eyes. “Everything is gone. It’s just a nightmare.”

The small communities, surrounded by forest, are popular among retirees, many of whom struggled to evacuate on Tuesday as thousands became stuck in gridlocked traffic. Wildfires are nothing new for the area – in 2008 nearly 10,000 were forced to leave – but the Camp Fire razed Paradise, killing at least nine people, the Butte county sheriff, Kory Honea, confirmed. About 6,500 structures have been destroyed, mostly homes.

Three bodies were found outside their homes, one inside a home and several in cars, Honea said. He expects that number will grow.

The burned remains of the Paradise elementary school on Friday. Photograph: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

“The wind pushed it downhill,” the Cal Fire spokeswoman Cheryl Buliavac said. “In 24 hours, it went to 70,000 acres – that paints a picture. We know there is a lot of devastation and destruction.”

Winds decreased on Friday, allowing firefighters to begin to focus on containing the fire rather than just helping people evacuate, Buliavac said. But they expected winds to pick up again on Saturday and have issued evacuations for other nearby communities.

Of the thousands forced to evacuate Paradise and Magalia, some have found a bed at Red Cross shelters in Chico and Orland, including Antonio Sanchez, his girlfriend Amanda and their daughter, December.

Randy Stump with Ginger. Photograph: Dani Anguiano/The Guardian

They fled their Paradise home after family called to warn them of the fire, taking nothing but Christmas presents and toys for their young daughter. Sanchez lived through the fires in 2008, but those were nothing like this, he said. His house is gone, as are those of his mother, cousins and aunt. After living there for more than two decades, he doesn’t plan to return.

“We’re going to move, just because we don’t have anything left.”

It’s unclear what will happen when residents are allowed to return, or what they will find waiting for them. Those who fled reported seeing grocery stores, fast-food chains, schools and city buildings on fire.

Carol Nixon, who evacuated with her elderly parents, said that a beloved restaurant that had just reopened last month after a kitchen fire, burned down.

“What jobs will people be coming back to?” she said.