A bodycam video captures the Sonoma County police officer’s deadly drive to get his victims to safey as the destructive flames engulf Santa Rosa, killing 31 people.
The body cam footage begins by showing the deputy as he rushes into the porch of the house.
As he pounds on the door, he yells: “Sherrif’s office”.
Viewers can hear him coughing and spluttering as the smoke fills the air.
As he points a flashlight into the smoke, he shouts at another officer to find out where he is, and where the woman and her husband are trapped.
The officer then finds the woman and his fellow officer, before they lift her into the car.
As he begins to drive along the road, he is heard announcing on a loudspeaker saying:”Sonoma County Sherrif’s Office, this is a mandatory evacuation order. Leave your homes”.
Fiery tree branches can be seeing falling on his car as sparks flick onto his windshield, blocking his view.
Even with his headlights on, smoke clouds ahead make it almost impossible to see what is in front of him..
The stretch of Northern California is lit by a shade of deep red by spreading wildfires.
And as he drives closer into the fires, the reddish air turns a brighter yellow and orange.
The sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook: “While it’s only one deputy’s video, it is representative of all the deputies who helped evacuate people that night.
“We don’t usually provide bodyworn camera footage, but the Sheriff believes this footage is crucial in helping our community understand how dangerous these fires are right now.”