KGO-TV(SANTA ROSA, Calif.) — Wildfires are tearing through northern California, leaving behind a trail of devastation.

“Everything burned,” John Millier, a resident of Santa Rosa, told ABC station KGO-TV in San Francisco.

One of Millier’s properties was destroyed overnight by the flames, but firefighters were able to save his second property from the raging inferno.

While police are calling for residents to evacuate as the fires continue to burn, Millier told KGO-TV he is reluctant to leave.

Millier’s neighbor John Graves also lost his home.

“It’s Mother Nature at her worst, I guess,” Graves told KGO-TV.

“Been here 25 years,” Graves added, surveying his ruined home. “It was a great neighborhood. It’s going to be a lot of work getting it back.”

But Graves is staying positive despite the loss, telling KGO-TV he is thankful that his family is safe.

“We will put it all back together. It’s only stuff,” said Graves. “I’m not going to look at this as the end of the world.”

The wildfires have caused an estimated 20,000 people to evacuate. Two people have died and at least 1,500 structures have been destroyed so far.

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