|
#11
●
07-18-2016, 03:26 PM
|
|
Re: Family Drives Through Blazing California Wildfire
This was a fire near Ventura.. video is from a Dutch family that were on holiday. "This is the terrifying moment a Dutch family get caught in the middle of an out-of-control wildfire sweeping across California. Maaike Maks and her relatives feared they were going to be burnt alive when their drive home accidentally took them through the middle of the bush fire last night. Footage shot by Maks shows 'big and frightening' flames on both sides of the road while thick acrid smoke filled the freeway. A scared passenger is heard shouting, in Dutch, 'we will catch fire!', after sparks and burning scrub hit the car. 'I was terrified and in a total shock,' she told CNN. 'In the end, it only took a few seconds, but it felt like an hour.' The family,from Haarlem in the Netherlands, were on vacation and had been driving back to their holiday home in Santa Barbara after attending an NBA game. At around 11pm on the Southern California freeway, the family of five spotted flames in the distance. But the highway was still open and with no-one warning them to turn back, they continued towards the wildfire. Maks began recording but within moments the blaze was all around them. Thick dark smoke made it impossible to see far ahead except for what looked like rivers of fire to either side. Thankfully the family made it through to the other side without injury although Maks said they had a lucky escape. 'It was terrifying,' she told CNN. 'We were very lucky. In a worst-case scenario, our car could have exploded.' The wildfire has already burned 1,240 acres of land, forced the closure of parts of a major highway and threatened dozens of homes, fire officials said. The out-of-control brush fire forced the evacuation of dozens of homes northwest of Los Angeles and closed a stretch of Pacific Coast Highway after starting outside the city of Ventura late Friday. Highway 101 - which runs north to south - was closed in both directions for roughly 15 miles from state Highway 150 to state Highway 33, forcing holiday travelers to take narrow, back country roads. The fire began late Friday night and winds gusting to 50 mph pushed the flames down hills and over roads and railroad tracks, showering sparks on homes in coastal communities, fire officials said. About 50 homes in the Solimar Beach community were placed under mandatory evacuation orders and about 30 nearby homes were placed under voluntary evacuation. However, the winds had died down by early afternoon. The evacuation order was lifted by nightfall and a stretch of the scenic Pacific Coast Highway was reopened." 27 December 2015 |