Woman recounts harrowing experience fleeing the Mountain Fire: 'I fully panicked'
Friday marked the return home for some residents of Camarillo, California, after they were forced to flee when the explosive Mountain Fire tore through their community.
The Mountain Fire, which started Wednesday morning, has ripped through 20,000 acres, destroyed at least 220 structures, prompted mass evacuations and left at least six people injured. The blaze is 7% contained.
Camarillo Heights resident Carinne Hawley and her family evacuated Wednesday night. She told ABC News she left work early to try to gather their belongings and passports from their home.
"The higher up you come ... there was no visibility," Hawley said. "And then you feel trapped because there's just a single line of people coming down the hill [to evacuate] and you just think, 'My goodness, we're all just stuck here waiting to get down.'"
Hawley said she was "panicked."
"I got really, really scared because the smoke was so thick and I couldn't see," she said.
She said she was worried for her life as they evacuated.
"In the moment you go worst-case and you think, 'My God, if this fire comes over, you think about the people in Hawaii [impacted by the devastating August 2023 wildfire in Maui], you know, that they got stuck," she said. "And I don't want to be dramatic, but I did. The thought did cross my mind."
When Hawley and her family returned home, they found their house still standing, but without electricity or clean water.
"We're kind of looking at it as, like, a camping experience until we get rolling again," her husband, David Hawley, said.
Their neighbor's home is in ruins, Carinne Hawley said.
Firefighters are lining the streets to check for any possible spot fires. Crews are trying to gain the upper hand and take advantage of Friday's low wind conditions.
