She said she had not worried much about the threat of fire. The area around her burned in a huge blaze a dozen years ago, but she felt protected by a highway that stood between her home and the forest.

But on Tuesday afternoon, the fire leaped across that road and charged into her neighborhood. Ms. Bishop and other neighbors raced to get their livestock and pets into trailers and carriers before fleeing.

“It looked like hell,” she said. “It was the scariest thing we’ve ever seen.”