LOS ANGELES — As emergency workers picked through fire-ravaged communities in Northern California on Monday, they recovered 13 more bodies, turning the largest wildfire in the state’s history into its deadliest as well.

Forty-four people have died since three wildfires broke out late last week. And countless other residents narrowly escaped with their lives, their close calls never to be forgotten.

Allyn Pierce was trapped by a wall of fire as he tried to flee the flames coming closer and closer to his truck. Chris Gonzalez counted the ever-narrowing escape routes from his home as the highlands around him erupted into flames. Rebecca Hackett was engulfed by a red-orange hellscape as she sped toward safety in her car.

“I was like, ‘I think I’m done,’” said Mr. Pierce, a registered nurse who was trapped in traffic in Paradise, Calif., where most of the community was burned. “I just kept thinking, ‘I’m going to die in melting plastic.’”