SANTA ROSA, Calif. — Blaring car horns warned of the rushing wildfires in Northern California last week. So did exploding propane tanks and police megaphones. The smell of smoke was a sign of what loomed on the horizon. Frantic banging on the door by neighbors was an indication that the fire was dangerously close.

Some of those who survived what is considered the deadliest outbreak of fire that the state has ever seen fled the flames with just seconds to spare. Behind them, in rearview mirrors or over shoulders, they saw their homes, possessions, entire neighborhoods consumed by the inferno.

They are left now with memories, intense ones, unforgettable ones, of relaxing quietly on a Sunday night one moment and running for their lives the next. What they cannot forget is the fire, it’s quickness and heat, its smell and destructive nature. These are some of the stories of those who saw the fire and tried to outrace it:

They fled through smoke with flames on both sides of the road.

“I was watching a movie with my 19-year-old granddaughter and I smelled smoke, and I looked out the window to see flames approaching,” recalled Maureen Grinnell, 77, who lives in the hills north of Napa with her husband, Sheldon, 89. “I went outside to try to wet things down with the hose, but it was clear it was futile, and we just had to get out of there.”

At that point, she said, it was a rush for safety.

“From when I first realized what was happening until we left, it was no more than seven to 10 minutes,” Ms. Grinnell said, “but by the time I started to back the car out of the garage, the house was already on fire. We always thought the alert system would give us time, but there was no notice, no warning.”