(CNN) Matthew McDermott was trying to get out of town.

The Sonoma, California, resident was desperately searching for an escape route Monday as wildfires that had ignited the night before raced through parts of Northern California and began to surround the area where he lived.

He'd been driving around all night, and was in the nearby town of Schellville, when he saw something that stopped him in his tracks -- a tree full of fire.

Bright orange and red flames flickered and flared through several gaps in the large tree's trunk. Smoke poured out near the tree's top, like a chimney.

McDermott said it was an unbelievable sight on what was an unbelievable day, as he crisscrossed the roads trying to find the best way out of the fiery madness.

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