November 8, thousands flee wildfire that destroys Northern California community

Today is Friday, Nov. 8, the 313th day of 2024. There are 53 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Nov. 8, 2018, tens of thousands of people fled a fast-moving wildfire in Northern California that would become the state’s deadliest ever, killing 86 people and nearly destroying the community of Paradise.

Also on this date:

In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln won reelection as he defeated Democratic challenger George B. McClellan.

In 1889, Montana was admitted to the Union as the 41st state.

In 1923, Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt at seizing power in Germany with a failed coup in Munich that came to be known as the “Beer-Hall Putsch.”

In 1942, the Allies launched Operation Torch in World War II as U.S. and British forces landed in French North Africa.

In 1950, during the Korean War, the first jet-plane battle took place as U.S. Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the U.S. presidential election over Vice President Richard M. Nixon.

In 1974, a federal judge in Cleveland dismissed charges against eight Ohio National Guardsmen accused of violating the civil rights of students who were killed or wounded in the 1970 Kent State shootings.

In 2000, a statewide recount began in Florida, which emerged as critical in deciding the winner of the 2000 presidential election. The recount would officially end on Dec. 12 upon orders from the U.S. Supreme Court, delivering Florida’s electoral votes and the presidency to George W. Bush.

In 2012, Jared Lee Loughner was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the January 2011 shootings in Tucson, Arizona, that killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded, slammed into the central Philippines, leaving more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattening villages and displacing more than 5 million.

In 2016, Republican Donald Trump was elected America’s 45th president, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in an astonishing victory for a celebrity businessman and political novice.