I was a reporter going to cover a story at a local community college when I saw the huge plume of smoke, so the photographer and I made a snap decision to cover the fire instead. When we reached a cafe at Barrett Junction at the base of a mountain, we watched in horror as the fire exploded over the top from Potrero, where it had started.
A Cal Fire guy at the Cal Fire base camp shouted "Run! Run for your lives!" Even Hell's Angels ran for their motorcycles and hauled ass out of there.
As I drove out along the 2-lane highway, we could see the fire advancing behind us, literrally burning up the highway behind us. Scariest damn thing I've ever seen. That fire burned for nearly 2 weeks, scorched 90,000 acres, and joined with several other massive fires that collectively burned over 368,000 acres and destroyed or damaged 1,350 homes and 100 businesses, also fueling evacuation of more than half a million people.
You cannot even imagine how fast a wildfire fueled by 100 mph hurricane force winds can advance--there is absolutely nothing that can stop it, since planes can't fly in such high winds. Here are photos, taken moments before the flames roared down the mountainside and we were told to run for our lives:
?298
?371
Edit history
Recommendations
6 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
= new reply since forum marked as read