Drone captures eerie footage of USPS truck driving in devastated Santa Rosa neighborhood

The United States Postal Service has closed multiple post offices in Sonoma County, but at least one postal service worker continued to deliver mail to a destroyed Santa Rosa neighborhood.

Footage captured by the licensed professional drone operator and photographer Douglas Thron, reportedly before the FAA issued a no-fly restriction in the area, shows a few residential blocks completely decimated by the Tubbs fire. The extent of the damage was shocking, even to Thron, who says he's covered multiple wildfires and floods during his career.

"It looked like a bomb went off, or someone flew over and bombed the whole area," he told SFGATE. "It looked like a war zone. [The fires] burned everything down to the ground."

Homes that burned to the ground in Sunday night's firstorm are seen in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa, Calif. on Wednesday Oct. 11, 2017. Homes that burned to the ground in Sunday night's firstorm are seen in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa, Calif. on Wednesday Oct. 11, 2017. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 77 Caption Close Drone captures eerie footage of USPS truck driving in devastated Santa Rosa neighborhood 1 / 77 Back to Gallery

Seeing the postman driving along just added to the surreal nature of the scene.

"I did a double take," Thron says, likening the experience to the absurdity of seeing a rhinoceros running through San Francisco. "I watched him go to a half dozen mailboxes ... It was like I was seeing something he wasn't seeing."

The USPS claims that this USPS worker was fulfilling requests from some residents to continue delivering mail to standing mailboxes.

Thron, whose work has been seen on "Good Morning America" and elsewhere on television, says his goal in posting the video to YouTube was to convey that this is an event much larger than people may think.

"This isn't just a little wildfire burning through the brush; its a horrendous fire," he says. "It's still hard to comprehend the magnitude of these fires. It leaves me speechless."

Note: The FAA has strict rules about operating drones, and advises that operators do not fly drones during an emergency like the current one. For more information, visit their site.

This story has been updated.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.