Father sings to 3-year-old daughter to keep her calm as they drive through California wildfire

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Nov. 9, 2018 / 7:25 PM GMT

By Minyvonne Burke

A father from Paradise, California, tried to keep his young daughter calm by singing to her as he maneuvered their car down a congested highway past flames and burning trees to escape the devastating Camp Fire.

Joe Allen was recording Thursday as he and his family left Paradise for Chico, California. Joe and his 3-year-old daughter, Olivia, traveled in one car, while his wife, Whitney, drove the second family car with their other daughter.

“There’s so much fire here. We’re gonna get on fire,” Olivia is heard telling her father in the video, shared on Facebook by Whitney Allen.

Joe reassures the little girl, telling her that they are not going to catch on fire and that he will keep their car away from the flames.

As Joe slowly drives down the smoky highway, he begins to sing the words: “Baby, it will be all right.”

Joe continues to distract his daughter by telling her that they will come back home when “it’s more Princess Poppy,” referring to a character from the 2016 movie “Trolls.”

At one point in the nearly three-minute video, Olivia becomes concerned because she can’t see her mom’s car. Joe tells that everything will be OK.

When Joe finally drives past the large flames, Olivia excitedly tells her father: “You did it! You did it!”

“We did it together,” Joe says in response. The whole family is currently in Chico.

The Camp Fire, which started Thursday morning, is one of three wildfires burning in California. Nearly the entire town of Paradise, where the Camp Fire is wreaking havoc, was wiped out, according to officials.

“The town is devastated, everything is destroyed,” Cal Fire Capt. Scott McLean said. “There’s nothing much left standing.”

The Hill Fire in Thousand Oaks has charred more than 10,000 acres by Friday morning and the Woolsey Fire in Malibu has burned at least 8,000 acres, officials said.