Jeannette Frescas was not concerned about the Thomas Fire until the fire reached her neighborhood in Ventura, California. "At midnight, I woke up with a flashlight in my face," Frescas told CNN.?"I looked out of my window and there were flames that were like, a hundred feet, all around us."
Like many residents, Frescas was caught off guard by the fire that has roared across Southern California for 13 days. She's one of tens of thousands of residents who got into cars and fled as winds drove the third-largest blaze in modern state history through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
"What was once a paradise was like a war zone," Frescas said of her apartment, which was destroyed by the blaze. "It's the scariest thing I've been through in my entire life." Ventura resident Patricia Rye woke up to her son-in-law pounding on her door. She didn't get a chance to pack any valuables. "I didn't have time to take anything," Rye said. "My wallet, or any of my personal things. "
The fire is so terrible that more than 8,400 firefighters are working around the clock to save lives. Twelve thousand people were evacuated in Santa Barbara County, with animals at the local zoo threatened as well. Santa Barbara Zoo closed Saturday and many animals were placed into cages in case of possible evacuations, zoo officials said. The zoo had kept most animals indoors, away from smoke.
Meanwhile, residents who had evacuated their homes in Ventura County -- where the fire began -- were allowed to return Saturday. Jim Holden considers himself lucky that firefighters saved his home and items. "They put a water screen between my house and the house next door that was burning in an attempt to save it." he said,?"They broke in and they saved my family photos and my computer, and things that they thought would be important to me."
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