In California, a raging wildfire continues to devastate local communities in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. So far, it's consumed 50,000 acres as people are forced to flee their homes. One survivor described the Bridge Fire as apocalyptic.
Liz Wenzel saw the fire snaking up and consuming California's Mt. Baldy. She said, "It looked like a nuke went off, nothing but smoke." Thousands of homes and buildings are threatened by the wildfire.
One local resident, Andrew Corona, described a harrowing scene. He and his fiancee were at the doctor's office for their 3-day-old's first checkup. That's when they got the call to evacuate. Unable to return to their home at Mt. Baldy Village, they faced losing their home of just a year.
"We had just finally finished unpacking the last couple of boxes, putting everything up and getting everything ready, building the cradle, building the crib. Finally excited to come home and introduce our son to our home and have him comfortable," Corona said.
Wildfire Threatens Home
Unfortunately, they couldn't return for their belongings or their cat.
"I told her, 'I promise you, I'm gonna get your cat,'" Corona said. He drove back to their home, reaching a firefighter barricade. He begged them to allow him to go back to get his cat.
"On our way up, I'm seeing something I've never seen before, just fires ablaze all along the mountain. I wasn't able to see because of the smoke. I couldn't breathe when I when I got out of the car to get into my house," he said. He only had time to get the cat and also a bag of belongings. He's hoping that his house will survive.
"It's a blessing and a really hard time to go through," he said. "I'm so blessed to have my family. I have everything I need."
Meanwhile, Wenzel wasn't able to save one of her cats or her three pet snakes. "To me, the animals are the most important," Wenzel said. "You can replace a lot of stuff but you can't replace a life. I am a big animal lover, so that's all I can think about."
She's hoping that they will be alright as the wildfire bears down.
"This is our first time ever going through anything like this, so we didn't know the severity of it, we were just hoping for the best, like, 'we'll be home in a few days.'"
