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| 'We had to get out': mother talks about son's viral California wildfire video | 'We had to get out': mother talks about son's viral California wildfire video |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Julie Wolf was two cars behind her son when he filmed their infamous escape from an explosive wildfire in Anderson Springs, California. She is the only member of the three-car convoy to speak out about footage that has gone viral, after providing a window into the dramatic blaze ravaging the state. | Julie Wolf was two cars behind her son when he filmed their infamous escape from an explosive wildfire in Anderson Springs, California. She is the only member of the three-car convoy to speak out about footage that has gone viral, after providing a window into the dramatic blaze ravaging the state. |
| The video, now viewed by over 1.6 million people on YouTube, shows the terrifying escape her family made through flame-consumed woods on 12 September. “Oh my god,” her son muttered as he navigated through the inferno. | The video, now viewed by over 1.6 million people on YouTube, shows the terrifying escape her family made through flame-consumed woods on 12 September. “Oh my god,” her son muttered as he navigated through the inferno. |
| Wolf said she was “too busy being terrified” during the drive, but her son, who does not want to be named, shot the video. | Wolf said she was “too busy being terrified” during the drive, but her son, who does not want to be named, shot the video. |
| Wolf, who has lived in California her whole life but has never before been evacuated, fled her home in Anderson Springs with her son, her daughter-in-law, and her daughter in a convoy of three cars. She is 60 years old and lived with her 24-year-old daughter in a home that her grandfather built in the 1930s. | Wolf, who has lived in California her whole life but has never before been evacuated, fled her home in Anderson Springs with her son, her daughter-in-law, and her daughter in a convoy of three cars. She is 60 years old and lived with her 24-year-old daughter in a home that her grandfather built in the 1930s. |
| She said her son shot the video on his phone as he drove the lead vehicle, a diesel van, through seven miles of woods consumed by fire. She believes her son shot the video “because it was such a bizarre sight”. | She said her son shot the video on his phone as he drove the lead vehicle, a diesel van, through seven miles of woods consumed by fire. She believes her son shot the video “because it was such a bizarre sight”. |
| “I’m glad he did what he did because usually the shots of a forest fire or devastation are either from a helicopter or from very far away or after everything’s burnt,” Wolf said in an interview. “But seeing it from the inside, I think people might learn something. And I think that’s why people are looking at it.” | “I’m glad he did what he did because usually the shots of a forest fire or devastation are either from a helicopter or from very far away or after everything’s burnt,” Wolf said in an interview. “But seeing it from the inside, I think people might learn something. And I think that’s why people are looking at it.” |
| As of Thursday, the Valley fire has incinerated 73,700 acres and is 35% contained. Wolf said she didn’t know the fire was so close until her son pulled into her driveway to drop off a small, electric trailer. | As of Thursday, the Valley fire has incinerated 73,700 acres and is 35% contained. Wolf said she didn’t know the fire was so close until her son pulled into her driveway to drop off a small, electric trailer. |
| “When my son drove into the property, he had seen the smoke. He didn’t see fire, but he saw smoke,” she said. “And he said it’s right up the hill from you and I think you should start packing.” | “When my son drove into the property, he had seen the smoke. He didn’t see fire, but he saw smoke,” she said. “And he said it’s right up the hill from you and I think you should start packing.” |
| According to Wolf, she was the only one left in her neighborhood when they fled. A mandatory evacuation was issued by authorities at 4pm – several hours before they left. | |
| She said they never received the order to evacuate. Wolf was expecting a phone call from the fire department, who she said had a “system in place to call everybody for evacuation situations”. She claims that her phone was working until the minute they left the house and she had no reason to doubt the system as she’s received reverse 911 calls in the past during emergencies. | She said they never received the order to evacuate. Wolf was expecting a phone call from the fire department, who she said had a “system in place to call everybody for evacuation situations”. She claims that her phone was working until the minute they left the house and she had no reason to doubt the system as she’s received reverse 911 calls in the past during emergencies. |
| Following her son’s arrival, they began packing her essentials and left the house at around 8.30pm. | Following her son’s arrival, they began packing her essentials and left the house at around 8.30pm. |
| “We didn’t see any fire at all and then we rounded one last corner and then it was completely engulfed in flames and there was nothing we could do,” Wolf said. “We live in kind of a dead end community so there was no way out, we had to go forward. We had to get out.” | “We didn’t see any fire at all and then we rounded one last corner and then it was completely engulfed in flames and there was nothing we could do,” Wolf said. “We live in kind of a dead end community so there was no way out, we had to go forward. We had to get out.” |
| The family had to drive slowly through the streets because the smoke was so thick, Wolf said. The worst part, she recalled, was that the car was heating up like she was “in an oven”. She also remembers a “panicking sensation” as she worried that something might fall into the street and block their path, trapping them in the approaching inferno. | The family had to drive slowly through the streets because the smoke was so thick, Wolf said. The worst part, she recalled, was that the car was heating up like she was “in an oven”. She also remembers a “panicking sensation” as she worried that something might fall into the street and block their path, trapping them in the approaching inferno. |
| “As far as you could see in every direction was red,” Wolf said. | “As far as you could see in every direction was red,” Wolf said. |
| But they managed to get out with minimal injuries and property damage. Her daughter-in-law “got a lot of smoke inhalation” as she was driving a convertible with a cloth top, which let in smoke. At one point, her son hit something, cracking the windshield, tearing away the passenger side headlight, and crushing the quarter panel. But the van was “so big and heavy so it just powered through”. | But they managed to get out with minimal injuries and property damage. Her daughter-in-law “got a lot of smoke inhalation” as she was driving a convertible with a cloth top, which let in smoke. At one point, her son hit something, cracking the windshield, tearing away the passenger side headlight, and crushing the quarter panel. But the van was “so big and heavy so it just powered through”. |
| “If we had reversed the order of the cars, somebody could be horribly hurt or we could have all hit each other,” Wolf said. “We had an enormous amount of luck getting out of there.” | “If we had reversed the order of the cars, somebody could be horribly hurt or we could have all hit each other,” Wolf said. “We had an enormous amount of luck getting out of there.” |
| Wolf said she has not been back to see her house yet. She’s staying with her son and daughter-in-law in Redwood City in northern California’s Bay Area, as the Valley fire continues to burn, having destroyed an estimated 585 residences and hundreds of other structures thus far. But she’s been searching for pictures of her neighborhood online and waiting for news. | Wolf said she has not been back to see her house yet. She’s staying with her son and daughter-in-law in Redwood City in northern California’s Bay Area, as the Valley fire continues to burn, having destroyed an estimated 585 residences and hundreds of other structures thus far. But she’s been searching for pictures of her neighborhood online and waiting for news. |
| The family have set up a GoFundMe page to help with repairs. | The family have set up a GoFundMe page to help with repairs. |
| “The waiting’s way harder than the running away,” Wolf said. | “The waiting’s way harder than the running away,” Wolf said. |