A pair of deadly California wildfires have left tens of thousands stunned by the damage in parts of Northern and Southern California.

Now, they're telling their stories of survival, as well as their first experiences surveying the damage. The quotes we've seen describe an indescribable scene, and each one tells us so much about the horrors of these infernos.

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Here are a handful of those quotes, both from the survivors and officials who have seen what these fires can do.

Camp Fire

"Bruno was saying, 'Just leave me. I can’t do this.' I said, 'Bruno, we’re not going to leave you. And I’m not going to burn, .'" - Michael Scott, who survived with his 90-year-old father, Bruno, by jumping into a nearby lake

"It’s one of the worst disasters I’ve seen in my career, hands down." - Brock Long, FEMA administrator

"Prayers of survival, prayers of aquick death. I know it sounds morbid, butit’s awful." -Linda Timme, when asked about her missing aunt, Evelyn Cline, whose Paradise home was destroyed

"Every time I come to California I say this is the worst fire I’ve seen. Once again this is the absolute worst. Worse than any war zone I saw in Iraq. The heroism of firefighters is amazing." - Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior

"This is a very, very difficult process and there is certainly the unfortunate possibility that even after we’ve searched an area, once people get back in there, it’s possible that human remains could be found." -Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea

"So devastating I don’t really have the words to describe it. It looks like a war zone, and it is." - California Gov. Jerry Brown

"You get these growing cities pushing out, housing developments going right up into brush and wooded areas. One ignition on a bad day and all that is threatened. These fires are tragic and they're telling us this is urgent. We can't sit on our hands." -Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the Northern California Prescribed Fire Council

Woolsey Fire

"I just started weeping. I just broke down. Your first view of it, man, it just gets you." -Roger Kelly, 69, resident of theSeminole Springs Mobile Home Park

"I've been doing this job for 31 years and probably in the last five, maybe seven years, every year seems to get worse." -California Fire Chief Scott Jalbert

"My house no longer stands but the memories shared with family & friends stand strong.." - Miley Cyrus

"We are not out of the woods yet. We still have some incredibly tough conditions ahead of us." -Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen

A search and rescue worker tends to his dog while searching for human remains at the Camp Fire, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Paradise, California. (AP Photo/John Locher)