He Watched His City Burn to the Ground as a Child

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A teenager in VRChat describes in detail a forest fire that destroyed his entire hometown.

[@Justamess-ip3nt]

Hey its me, the person in the video. I want to say thanks so much to Azeal for giving me sn outlet and thanks for all the wonderful and supportive comments. Seeing my story out here really made my day.

[@Azeal]

it was lovely meeting you, thanks again for joining me :)

[@weeweewacker]

jesus christ man, I think we're all glad that you survived to tell the tale

[@dude34150]

Amazing story god bless

[@knite_lite]

I wasn't near the camp fire at the time, I was in Ventura (Simi Valley if you know where that is). I was in 6th grade, experiencing a smaller, but very serious nearby wildfire and what you described were my worst fears. I had a dog which kept in a fenced off area and we had to let her in cause the air quality was so awful. Anyways, best of luck.

[@Zeakthecat]

amazing story, hope you keep healing after the fire, god bless man, and keep living on.

[@AS-hu2ek]

This is without a doubt the most well spoken 13-14 year old kid I’ve ever heard. Having a hard time believing it honestly.

[@Justamess-ip3nt]

Believing the story or that I'm 14?

[@kraze5532]

@@Justamess-ip3nt Pretty sure that he had a hard time believing you were 14

[@ginniegill1026]

I think he'd be 15, bc he said he was 11 in 2018 and it's 2022 now

[@usernameisusernam]

Give us _some_ credit, were not completely stupid

[@windowsill9724]

@@ginniegill1026 he probably wasn’t born in January or February

[@mellow4099]

I remember this. My house wasn’t too near the fire but when we were driving a bit I saw a few houses on fire. I luckily wasn’t affected personally other than having to wear masks because the air was so bad. I was in 5th or 4th grade when it happened and I was scared but my sister was able to calm me down. It truly was scary

[@DevilishWerble]

Well imagine an anti-masker in that situation, just suffocating.

[@ghazghkullthraka9714]

I went into year 12 during the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires. I was in Ulladulla for a while, we got stuck there for a while and dodged the fire by a day, and about two weeks after we got back, another bushfire started nearby

[@unkoiboi]

@@DevilishWerble doesnt make sense

[@layalsaleh4103]

@@unkoiboi it makes perfect sense? what are you talking about?

[@unkoiboi]

@@layalsaleh4103 it doesnt

[@OutlawRemy86]

His brother rolled a 20 on Gallows humor with that Christmas tree joke.

[@watermlnjuice_forbl00d]

I honestly couldn’t imagine associating the smell of campfire smoke with, death, despair, destruction, and loss instead of comfort, warmth, and happiness… my heart goes out to those who suffer, from fire and flood, to earthquake and eruption

[@Azeal]

The brain reacts in so many ways to so many different experiences; you're right that it's hard to imagine something I find comforting with fear and terror.

[@helmit_kid9755]

i remember that year you couldnt see 20 feet in front of you where i lived, keep in mind this is around a 2-4 hour drive between the fire and where i live and the air quality was around 10-20k, normally its around 10-20

[@Azeal]

yeah cali goes through some wild shit

[@thetrollage1298]

@@Azeal I live in alberta canada but my city wasnt on fire but there was a fire really close to my city so the orange atmosphere was at my city and i was at 3rd grade at the time and it did feel like mars and it felt surreal it felt so weird i cant really describe it

[@thetrollage1298]

@carrots with internet connection same I also live in Edmonton and it was because of the fort mcmurry fire that caused it to look like mars did you experience it in 2018 or 2019 like I did?

[@thetrollage1298]

@carrots with internet connection wow I’m sorry for your loss man

[@thetrollage1298]

@carrots with internet connection yeah at the time I was way younger so I couldn’t really think of anything else besides it looking cool but it’s good that your doing better

[@snifflord2364]

Great story like always I always feel bad for the people who have to go through things

[@Azeal]

same :(

[@tealpine6476]

Yes unfortunately after that I moved into a house close to a airport and every time a fire plane flew over or I heard siren I would start panicking and and also as a double whammy I also lived near a fairly busy area so there were a lot of sirens and I remember for the next 1-2 years every time I heard a plane fly by even if I was at a friends house I would run outside to see if it was a fire plane to see if my life was going to come crashing down on my head a second time

[@stormscout0995]

Completely irrelevant and possibly could insult someone but I don’t think you should be called Sniff lord in this situation, aka, while you were watching this video

[@digishade7583]

5:01 that was actually pretty smart of the guy’s brother because in a fire situation you don’t want to panic and while I’ve never actually had a fire hit any of the towns I’ve lived in so far it can get pretty dry here in Australia especially now where it is summer here and there is a danger of bush fires, if the start of 2020 wasn’t big enough evidence of that then I don’t know what is

[@elderberrysandwich5565]

This dudes a legend. He legit saw a fire and went back to sleep-

[@scotterbean1278]

Just another day in California

[@Justamess-ip3nt]

Damn straight

[@JunohNebula]

Californian here, I've heard some nightmarish stories about the Paradise fire. I know people who lost their homes in that fire. It's a grief that the state has been struggling to process for a long time. An entire town gone in less than a day, and each year the fire situation seems to be getting worse. Thank you for sharing this story.

[@bonecag3]

but of a late comment but also a Californian and I remember Paradise vividly. I personally didn’t live there at the time but I was near enough for the air to look orange and ash to literally be falling from the sky. I can only imagine how horrible it was for the people who actually lived there. I hope nothing like it ever happens again, though it’s California so sadly it’s always a possibility during fire season

[@Computercat1008]

I remember we got a few days off school because the smoke was so thick counties down. My 7th grade teacher was there after helping the survivors. I've gone through the Tubbs fire in 2017 and still associate fire with the fire tornados and choking smoke. Still, the Paradise fire decimated that county and I couldn't even comprehend how awful it was. My heart goes out to all survivors and victims.

[@mariobadia4553]

It gets worse every year not because of climate change but because of California's abysmally poor fire management which gets worse and worse and worse and worse every year in that hell hole of a state. You guys don't do anything all of the dry for your legs just the lying around waiting to be set on fire because of your stupid f****** environmental b******* laws. If you guys did controlled burns the fires wouldn't be so bad

[@jakeking974]

"there's always some light in the dark" Yeah, you just have to hope that light isn't a raging inferno approached your location.

[@charlieblank3393]

wrong timing man, wrong timing

[@henriblob8163]

lmaoo

[@staggbones]

Very insensitive.

[@jakeking974]

@@charlieblank3393 the fuck is timing? I make jokes when they come to me, don't be so uptight.

[@festivalboat9068]

Lol

[@highlandcrow420]

Honestly, I immediately knew what fire he was talking about as soon as i heard 2018. I myself was not in this fire, but my Auntie Jessica used to live in Paradise, and she had to try to escape that fire with all her pets. She did make it out, and one of her old cats from this are actually still alive, Moose. I visited them a few months ago, and she's doing great now with a big house and her old cat. I'm honestly so glad she was able to get out, and i'm also glad he was able to get out. If you're reading this, i'm so sorry you had to go through something like that. That fire was so horrible.

[@ImEveGaming]

I live in cali, this is a scary reality, ive seen the sky go orange from a big fire in the distance

[@Azeal]

as a SoCal resident I have also seen the apocalypse skies we occasionally get during fire season.

[@kapa_nitori]

say... how did you people in California live in a place where the city burns down constantly? im genuinely curious

[@bruvlord1133]

@@kapa_nitori Were built different

[@coreytaylor447]

there isnt anything as tragic as a kid whose 'wiser beyond their years', that means that the had to experience things that no kid ever should

[@kinashy8863]

Exactly. Their childhood was taken away from them

[@RoseTheWolf36]

I remember the entirety of the Camp Fire, and I was back in Los Gatos at the time. My heart goes out to everyone who is still displaced by the fire.

[@siplt2946]

Dang one of my fears is warming up to just smoke and fire must of been terrifying

[@blobfishiant8487]

My county was actually hit by the same fire talked about in this video (fellow Californian and I recognize the date), and I can confirm it was scary af. The thing about it was less than a year earlier, a similarly massive fire (the biggest in state history at the time) had just ripped through the area, forced entire cities to evacuate, and burned for over a month. So needless to say it was still very fresh in our minds when we caught news of another massive brushfire which had come in and taken the title of largest fire in state history. Thing about the second fire (not gonna name it for anonymity’s sake) was that it knocked out the entire county’s cell service for several days, which caught pretty much everyone off guard. I was lucky enough to not have any losses or property damage to either one of these events, but the fact that they came back to back like that was pretty much unprecedented.

[@panzerofthelake4752]

As an Australian who lives on the East Coast, I can relate to this. The smoke around my house at the start of 2020 was so thick I couldn't see the garden outside my front door and we had to keep our dog inside. Bushfires are dangerous kids.

[@k2thegawd290]

This man young man is very well spoken. I’m not sure of his age, my bad if I missed that part. Even at my age I would have trouble speaking this long about anything. Very inspiring.

[@-ExperienceWithMe-]

10:18 You know you're in a pickle when dad starts smoking while surrounded by smoke

[@m_artroom]

That’s not what happened I don’t 5hink

[@PhoenixAce]

Started smoking after all of this

[@thatdudeinasuit5422]

Being Australian particularly living in one of the drier/hotter states I've always been familiar with news of bushfires/forest fires for instance in 2019 where a fire on the central eastern coast forced pushed thousands of people to the beaches to be evacuated, but because I live relatively close to the coast it's never been something I've experienced first hand. I must say it is incredibly enlightening to hear what it's like to actually experience that sort of situation particularly at that young an age.

[@DemonClo]

Thank you for telling you story! I’m so glad you and your family made it out. I also live in California and I remember that fire, it was terrifying when the sky turned orange, I couldn’t even see the end of my yard (it’s a small yard, too). It made everything feel like a fever dream. Fire season in California is just horrible, I’ve had friends that have had to evacuate and in 2020 (I believe) there were a bunch of small fires around where I lived from lightning but there were no firefighters to put them out since they were all in the mountains. Not a very fun couple days. I hate smelling smoke while walking home from school and just thinking: “oh, the forest’s on fire again” and then go on with my day like it’s totally normal.

[@grimstruck5300]

I live in Australia and I sympathize with the orange sky thing there was a fire right near my school. not visible but close and the sun was red and the sky was orange it looked like we were entering hell.

[@thecrowoncampus]

dude i love these vids. tysm for giving these people a place for others to hear their stories

[@acousticorca947]

I knew fires were bad but I didn't know they were that bad. I'm glad this person was able to share there story I'm so glad I found this channel so I can hear these stories

[@thearcane8744]

I’m from California and I remember once I was on the plane and we saw a forest fire and my dad, me and some stranger was like “ohh that’s a forest fire” they were really calm about it. This is the reason some places get burned

[@deannabelt2247]

I remember the paradise fire. I don't live too close to paradise, but a lot of the smoke got to us. My dad lived in paradise several decades ago. This sounds like a horrifying experience. There was an earthquake where I live a couple years ago and I still get worried whenever things shake or there are loud booms. It is kind of interesting how those kind of things can affect you even when they don't seem like too big of a deal when they happen.

[@kendagoatt]

You're really well spoken for your age! I cant imagine what Id do in these kinds of situations but your adrenaline must have been pumping the whole time. Glad youve shared this story with us though

[@Azeal]

He is really well spoken yeah!

[@deepbeep101]

God, I remember the camp fire. Was driving to school from a town about half an hour away from the city it happened in. At first, my mom and I were like "hey look some smoke. Another day in California. I go to class, art being my first subject of the day. My teacher is like "oh it's fine." We leave the class, look up, and smoke. Everywhere. It was almost raining ash. It went on for so long. N95's out of stock everywhere. Didn't go to school for a couple weeks. Destroyed multiple places. I now live in a burn scar from that very fire

[@starshifter4]

That's a lot to go through especially at that age. I'm glad that you and your family made it out ok. Thank you for sharing your story.

[@cutebubbleUwU]

holy shit that got pretty dark pretty quick

[@austincroslow8979]

I didn't listen to the opening of the video, so when you said you were 11, I thought "oh well this must have been back in like 2013 or something because you sound about my age." When I heard you say that you got your last yearbook in 2019, I was so confused. In my mind this kid was like 20. The comments cleared up my confusion, but oh my god. For not even being 15 years old, this story was articulated so well. Seemingly very mature and smart young man. Glad everything worked out for you.

[@jakeking974]

Wow, that's pretty rough stuff to deal with mentally at 11. I at least got to 15 before breaking.

[@galacticbananastopmotions7292]

This was really interesting to hear for me because in 2012 hurricane sandy destroyed most of my neighborhood and my family were stuck in our house during the hurricane. It’s really crazy to me hearing basically the complete opposite type of storm having such similar effects.

[@iusehuzunison7378]

I remember this. I almost committed suicide because I was just so sad because I lost EVERYTHING I HAD. All gone. All we had was our clothes, pets, very few things (I got my gaming equipment :D) and very little amounts of food, it took us 13 hours to get out of that hell. I would never wish this for anyone, I lost my best friend and grandmother to this fire. Thank you for talking about this.

[@yoshi32443]

I resonate with this dude a lot. I believe Im around the same age as him and I was also around 11 when the Tubbs fire hit where I lived. While I was fortunate not to lose my house October of 2017 was wild. We woke up at 3am to my friend mom banging on the door telling us that it was burning. There is a park near by and at the end of the block you can see the mountains from the park and you could see the outline of the fire. We evacuated to my dads bosses house and on the way there you could see the fire not far away. The sun was exactly like how hr described it, an orange and grey sky with a blood red sun that looked straight out of a war movie of sorts. The ashes that fell down was a lot, it would cover our cars and the floors. The smell of smoke and ash was intense, a smell that was strong enough that I sometimes smelled it inside the house. Panic set again last year when almost an exact scenario of the Tubbs Fire played out. The fire was around 10 minutes away from our house, but thankfully for us the winds changed but unfortunately for some people itd be a painful experience. Once again summer is nearing and I hope California can avoid another big wildfire but I think we know it will be inevitable that somewhere, a lot of people will suffer from anoyher fire.

[@Computercat1008]

I went through the Tubbs Fire too! It actually started on the night of my brithday, which was fun. I distinctly remember the fire jumping 101 and hearing about fire tornados and hearing transformers blowing up. The smoke was so thick we had to stay inside for five days. It was horrible, but we were lucky when the fire changed direction a miraculous 5 seconds away from burning our house down. It was quite traumatic but I got through it! Hope you're doing well now.

[@sanoalmano8915]

My brother died in this fire, he went in the house to go save our dog and the fire had gotten in the basement and blew up the Propane tanks setting him ablaze however he got are dog and got outside before passing out and we went to the ER it was chaos we couldn’t get him in within time. I still shake to fire to this day

[@mochidog]

I also experienced this specific fire, the Campfire of 2018. At the time I was a junior going to highschool in the town over. Thank you to the guest and you for putting this story out there. That fire ruined, and took, so many lives. It's so important to spread awareness about these kinds of things. It tore my live apart, and still effects me years later.

[@Neb7200]

I was going to school in Chico at the time and remember all the craziness of those months. Incredibly scary and major props to you sir for handling it all. I can’t imagine having something like that happen to your entire town.

[@JamesM_FL]

Holy shit, glad they made it out Allright

[@vividadvantage2572]

last time I saw a fire that big was when my teacher caught a broom on fire in kindergarten class

[@Azeal]

oop-

[@vividadvantage2572]

@@Azeal I’m traumatized from this don’t laugh (andrew when he finds out he can exploit traumatized people for profit :gecko:)

[@siplt2946]

Why would she bring that to class like what

[@vividadvantage2572]

@@siplt2946 she got it out of the janitors closet

[@siplt2946]

@@vividadvantage2572 oh why did I not think of that

[@LadybugsOpin]

I'm from Alberta and I was working as a Walmart cashier when the Fort McMurray fire happened. Afterwards, all of the employees were asked if we wanted to go and help with the rebuilding efforts. Food and lodging would be paid by the company because it'd be a two week venture. I declined because I couldn't leave my cat alone for that long because she'd starve. I wasn't judged for this because SOME people needed to stay behind. Then I found out that my cat's vet was giving free checkups and board for any surviving cats that came from there. So I got a bunch of slips of paper and wrote down the contact info for said vet onto each slip. Every time I saw someone buying cat supplies, I'd mention the fire in order to see if any of their cats came from there. If so, then I'd give them the contact info. It wasn't much, but I'm pretty sure the one guy who said he had over 10 cats from there was grateful!

[@murderofcrow978]

I have something that's stronger then a phobia when it comes to even the thought of house fires and wild fires. I get a lot of anxiety that just shuts my body down when you think I wouldn't be able to breath, my access to escaping can be limited really fast. Everyone and thing I've loved will be gone in seconds. It can happen anytime for an absurd amount of reasons. Being alone seeing just the burnt black remains of your life. Because everything you see now can just turn to dust and ash in less then minutes oh that could be me or my family or cat. My imagination is so strong that I don't have to close my eyes to see flashes of what's ever left of the house. Your amazing to have survived that.

[@kingunderthehill818]

I was evacuated in a forest fire. I was quite young and I can still remember the smoke billowing out of the forest half a mile away. me and my siblings had to walk our animals into the forest (because the evacuation efforts were blocking our way by car) so we had to bring them to a location where someone had a trailer and was willing to bring them out of the forest. as a little kid, it was intense. luckily my house survived but I know that if the wind had blown the wrong way that day, it'd all be over. people were letting their animals loose and you could find them wandering the roads days after the fire was finally shut down, it was just crazy. Thank you for sharing your story !

[@SillyNacho]

I'm addicted to Azeal, its interesting listening to these stories.

[@Azeal]

Aww thank you!

[@SillyNacho]

@@Azeal Yw

[@Lolitzi13]

As a Californian who lives near areas like this, it scares me to think that this might happen to me. Hope you well Justamess9191 and best of luck.

[@henriblob8163]

As an australian one time the smoke was making the air so yellow the green traffic lights looked blue

[@henriblob8163]

situation was infinitely better than the guy in the vids though

[@ashtonball7236]

I watched a documentary on paradise when I was in fire class. Glad to hear your ok and to get another perspective

[@DEAD_DOG]

This has always been one of my darkest fears. I live in California and have had to evac before but luckily I didn't lose anything. Thank you for sharing your story. I hope you are able to recover from the trauma.

[@LeonKent]

Another Californian here, there was a fire at La Tuna Canyon and my gramps was incredibly close to it, like I'm talking about dangerously close. Right across the road was the fire. Once we got him in the car to get him the hell out of there, we realized we forgot his meds so I actually had to go back to the house driven in a police car cause' they weren't gonna risk anyone getting hurt. It was crazy, everything was red and you couldn't smell a thing other than the smoke and ash clouding your nostrils. It's terrifying but my gramp's home was thankfully untouched and saved. Shoutout to the firefighters man, this shit ain't easy for anyone to go through. I just hope this coming spring and summer are less flammable.

[@Cometstarlight]

"You meet wonderful people in times like this." It's true. Years ago, my house (heck, my whole neighborhood) was damaged by a tornado. We didn't lose the house, but we sustained water damage, parts of the roof were ripped off, etc. I think it was the next day, there was this woman with her daughter who looked between 5-7 who showed up at our house. She started talking to my mom and the little girl came up and hugged me. The woman gave us two boxes of pizza and a bag of clementines, said she'd be praying for us and that she was glad we were ok and once she was done talking to my mom, the woman and her daughter left. I thought for sure my mom knew her, but when I asked, my mom said no. It was one of the kindest things and it still sticks with me to this day over ten years later. I wish I knew who they were so I could thank them, but they weren't doing this for the recognition. There are most definitely good people out there.

[@citrinecasket]

living in the 530 area during this and now, it did and still feels so surreal like armageddon. my school got a new student who lost their house to the camp fire and thankfully had family where i live. we watched the news in class for an assignment anyways and hearing about this on national news was crazy. thank you for sharing your story

[@doccifer2791]

I think I remember that fire in 2018 I was a freshman in high school and the sky was just orange like it was bad i took a picture of the sun and I made it look red

[@SockTheBop]

I just don’t understand how people can carry on after losing all their belongings, it boggles my mind

[@m_artroom]

They do it because what else can they do?

[@lilcrystalplays9571]

I remember when this fire's smoke spread downwind, I was around San Jose at the time, I remember the air turning orange and the sun turning red like some sort of oversized grapefruit. The descriptions really brought me back to that day, and I remember how thick the air was with smoke, so thick, I got sick with a 103

[@NexVoidGaming]

We had a housefire when I was in grade 9 and im now 35 and still experience a traumatic response to the distinct smell of housefire.

[@ajaxxmp4]

I think this was the camp fire paradise.. I'm very sorry for whoever went through this I hope everyone is doing okay

[@RedAce-RTI]

that statement on trauma is more true than i wish, as god i lived it, i've had too much trauma at such a young age it molded me into what i am now, mostly emotionally blank, anger issues, and trust issues, so much has changed from my old happy and joyful self, i mean what do you expect when you have 7 different near death experiences at the young ages of 7-10 years old. family life is hell, social life is worse, at least im happy for who and what i am, and by god im glad i hardly can feel sadness, as i would not be standing where i am right now if i did, but i ranted enough, ill end this comment here

[@tealpine6476]

It's so weird to me that another person about the same age as me lived in the small town of paradise with me drove the same roads to chico as me probably went to the same stores as me etc and I will never know if I had seen him while he was playing basketball next to the aquatics park or walking at billypark or waiting in line at Burger King!

[@icefireruby3245]

Yk, 5 months after this video was posted, the mountain where I lived ignites, due to a stray firework, and I've also now say I've experienced having to leave your home for something that terrifying, and luckily i was lucky, with my neighborhood being spared due to the fire department getting there in the nick of time, but I still feel terrified, as I was the one responsible for grabbing everything and making sure it got into my car. Now I always have my important things in boxes just in case I need to run, as I got my own car now, so I will be the one to make sure things go safely, and its not great. Rewatching this video really helped come to realize what stress I've been holding onto from this, so thank you azeal and random person speaking, this helps

[@SLAPNTZ_MCCOY]

As soon as I heard the date, my blood ran cold because I knew immediately what he was talking about. I responded to the Camp Fire. Changed my perspective on things. After all the crap, the humanity and the generosity and the show of force of civilians and donations and collections. Really blew my mind

[@TheAnthonyWilde]

The part where he descirbes everything as orange and the smoke thickening reminds me of when I was at the 2019-2020 bushfires in Australia

[@Bo-bb7kv]

Bless that guy's brother for trying to keep everyone calm

[@1stAidan]

I feel so bad for these people

[@keolawilson1014]

Seeing the fires in 2018 is a feeling Il never forget. The sky red like blood and the air tainted with ash. It was to say the least a scary experience

[@cameronnorris2055]

My aunt lived in Paradise, a few summers ago when it burned her house and cat survived luckily, but she moved just after because of PTSD.

[@Donut988]

I was living in Chio at the time, which was the city right down the Skyway "a highway like road" that led up the hill to paradise about 10 miles i think. my roomate at the time had family up there and was freaking out but luckly they decided to leave to there new house the day before, i was worried about my friends that lived up there, sent texts all day trying to make sure people where alive or out. Ended up getting a job 3 months after and alot of the workers there all survived and go through the escape, alot of them said it was like driving through what hell must look like, heard there stories, saw there videos. still brings me to tears thinking about all they had to go through, my heart goes out to you man. i dident live in paradise, but i sure got a front row seat to the terroir, smoke and the aftermath of the people trying to flee and then all the scummy people coming up from Sothern California to take advantage of all the relief efforts. shit was crazy and im probably gonna get some sort of cancer from all the smoke i had to breath in but.

[@Iron_bowl]

Kinda reminds me of up in 2016 when my town fort McMurray Alberta ( Canada) had a wild fire and half the town burnt down

[@JasonOfWolves]

I know people who went through this. A warm breeze has so much more meaning now. That was not a good time. It hits different.

[@official_julianvandermade]

In the Netherlands in Koedijk we have "de jol" it's a field were we build wooden huts, and after a week of building we rate them and throw every hut on one spot and light it on fire, you didn't have be close but you can feel it burning in your skin. This is not a huge fire but I know how it feels. Everything in your town was on fire that's insane, I can't believe how you would've felt.

[@exoticbreadstick8661]

I remember this year. Worst smoke ever in my memory on the west coast, and hearing stories of towns burning down while being forced to wear n-95s for the smoke, that was a nasty summer.

[@Zeakthecat]

like wow... hope everyone heals from that wildfire.

[@DyslexicWitch]

When I was in 6th grade I remember this happening and I remember all the ashes falling in my town and the sky was red for a week or so and it looked like a apocalypse or something. My parents forced me to wear a mask to school for my lungs bc I’m savorily asthmatic. Got a bit bullied for it but it was whatever, you couldn’t go outside without smoke ashes hiting your eyes. My friend mom and my mom still made us walk to school though so that kinda sucked. I was questioning why the county still made us go to school rather than have us stay home for our own health safety. Some of our teacher let us eat inside they’re classes during lunch but not all, but not all of us wanted to be outside for a long time. A year later they already had paper assignments for us to read about it for assignments as if it happened 10 years ago, even though it happened just the year before. It was very weird but being a Californian who’s used to forest fires and ashes this was the worst I’ve ever seen. At least now if there’s another fires like that we get to stay home so that’s nice I guess.

[@titantanic7255]

I was in the same area when this happened in 2018, I remember I woke up to go to school and I saw a small streak of smoke coming from a far off mountain, when I got to the car after breakfast, the air had begun to turn into ash, we thought it would be fine but just in case we packed our important stuff in bags, when we drove down the mountain to school I saw a huge cloud of smoke coming from the mountain, it looked like a volcano had just blown up. During recess in school I could see the air turning gray and the smoke kept growing from the mountain, after school, I had to wait at school for sometime because my mom was stuck in traffic from the fire, I stayed for a couple of hours and I was scared, I was thinking our house burned down and my family couldn’t get out or something but when my mom got back it was late and I was bawling, when we got back the mountain to the house, the air was already just a little orange, me and my brother walked on the rock area higher up and saw the fire, it was beautiful but terrifying at the same time. The next day we weren’t allowed to take the normal road to my school so we had to take the fire off road track on wth mountain for a couple days, I wasn’t in the same county as this guy, I was 8 or 9 at the time, the fire was so close that we were waiting to leave, We went to sleep and like 4 in the morning we get an amber alert which if you don’t know, in California is terrifying to hear, then our neighbor friend busts through the door and says, we have to go out, Now. We got all of our packs but then I saw our parents talking to firefighters and they were moving down our street, they told us they were pushing the fire back, by that time the air was horrible, you had to wear bulky masks outside and don’t open the door or the smoke would get in, and it made you sick, it smelt like burning plastic and wood from the forest. Me and my brother were watching a show 5 in the morning, our school starts at 8 so we decided not to go back to sleep and just watched our show with cookies and milk, it was one of my favorite times in my life but it was also scary, after school we found out that they already were stopping the fire and we saw planes and helicopters drop water at super low altitudes, it was crazy, we were so close to losing our house but luckily the firefighter stopped it. After the fire I wanted to become a firefighter and stop people from losing their homes but I kind of got over that. Years later we changed houses and again, 4 in the morning, a car blew up and smoke and fire was coming from a house, I was reminiscing about when the fire was at our old house, this new fire wasn’t that bad and only one house got burned down, we gave one of the now homeless people our blanket. You could smell the plastic and wood on fire again. Something like these experiences can cause a lot of interesting things, scary or fun. I’m sorry if this is too long but I really wanted to share as this video really reminded me of that time, thanks for reading, even I wouldn’t read this much from a comment.

[@danielvalles9554]

If it isn't obvious, they're talking about the Camp fire that happened in Paradise, CA in 2018. It started early in the morning and high whipping winds cased It to spread at an extremely rapid pace, burning something in the neighborhood of 20k homes and killed 85 people.. 85. Still blows my mind.

[@Flair258]

"And dad starts smoking" Out of all of the times to smoke... He chooses to smoke AFTER ESCAPING A GIANT FIRE!?

[@Jazz_Matazzfr]

The same thing happened with me during the 2020 creek fire. It's crazy how much of an impact it made on me and the community.

[@someguy95981]

My sister risked her truck and horse trailer and drove into the fire to save livestock animals and horses. God bless her.

[@RomanumChristum]

The fact the government doesn’t help anybody after this is shameful.

[@doubleemcastillano464]

This is how it felt to be in the hood. You walk around with a ton of trauma until trauma becomes normal and everyone around you also has trauma and you have to navigate the climate. You’re a ticket or two away from being out of a home etc. Not everyone is like that in the hood, but many are. I developed PTSD symptoms from my mother redeveloping Epilepsy. She crashed the car we were in on a parkway. Destroyed the car..We collided with light poles and everything. Roof was caved in and I had to crawl out the window to get help and when she regained consciousness, she couldn’t remember who I was. I started having almost like hallucinations that she was having a seizure. Then people would cough or sneeze and it felt like someone was having a seizure. You start to feel nuts…Like wtf is happening right now???

[@thetrollage1298]

I live in alberta canada but my city wasnt on fire but there was a fire really close to my city so the orange atmosphere was at my city and i was at 3rd grade at the time and it did feel like mars and it felt surreal it felt so weird i cant really describe it

[@frostbitenight353]

Am learning a lot from each video story I watch keep posting bro.

[@bobschinedeirt8458]

So sad. I hope that this story gets out. If anyone wants a video search up as a child I was trapped in isolation.3 minutes from the posting time.

[@casperslays1]

I believe he’s talking about the fire that burned down Greenville, as he mentioned the word “Paradise,” which I read when looking at Californias biggest fires. (trying to find out what town he was in) In the article I saw of Greenville, on of the lines was someone saying this: “I saw what happened in Paradise”

[@tayaricoleman]

I lived in literally the next city over (Chico CA) I'll never forget that day. Woke up a little late around 9am and the street lights were on it was so dark. Before I evacuated I could see the fire in the sky. It literally came within 1 mile of the city (2 miles from where I lived). Him describing it like hell on earth is accurate. Gas stations ran out of gas people were running lights and crashing into each other. It was crazyness. The city of paradise was a 15 min drive away. From what I heard most the city burned down within 8 hrs. People slept in too late that morning and died in their homes. There were stretches of the skyway where traffic didn't move in time and people literally got cooked in their cars. Crazy times...

[@thecosmodrome4503]

Wow. I've also survived a wildfire / urban conflagration and SO MUCH feels so similar! From the darkening sky and panicked escaping gridlock, to the community dynamic, and even little things like smoldering book pages falling from the sky it all just feels so damn familiar, like this kid could have been in the same for at the same town (He wasn't) and I'd be like "Yeah I can believe that all of that stuff happened"

[@tealpine6476]

Me and my family got out of there very early because my dad is in law enforcement and he got the call that he needed to go start evacuating people so we knew ahead of time so we got out before the traffic started but you don't realize how many first responders and undercover police cars there are till you're driving down Neal road and all you see on your left is emergency vehicles and a sunset at 8am

[@generalatlasdiamokov1354]

Im on the other side of the country in a kinda marsh/swamp just chillin then i get text my bff didn't get out with her family..........2 weeks later i get to get there and i collect whatever belongings she did have that was salvageable......she had a safe with some stuff she didn't want her family to know about not drugs or anything just personal stuff.........worst few days of my life.....

[@thimothy48]

although I didn't go through as much, his story really resonates with me. last year or so, me and my family were evacuated from a fire for two months. it was voluntary evacuation at first and after a month we came back home for a day then got mandatory evacacuated. we were lucky enough to have people take us in during that time and we even had a friend who took care of our 16 chickens. our house turned out ok but the fire ended up less than 2 miles away from our house. I still get scared when I smell smoke. my heart goes out to him and everyone else who lost their homes

[@ComradeCorvus]

This man's story should not only serve as a warning, but as a call to action. Catastrophic fires like this will only get worse and more frequent as the climate continues to degrade. We must not let it get any worse, by any means necessary, the climate crisis must be stopped.

[@rowandoggo]

I live in Spokane WA. Last year (2021), I woke up on the 5th of July at around 8am and went about my usual tasks, tending to the chickens and checking on my beehives, idly gardening and watering the plants... before idly looking upwind on a whim and noticing a small column of smoke rising in the distance. I thought to myself "is someone really burning yard waste now?" Since the fire marshal had declared a red flag burn ban the week before. I also didn't put it out of my head that maybe some idiots the night before had possibly started a bonfire for the 4th/ accidentally blew up a bush or timber pile off in the distance. To preface all this, I live in the middle of nowhere, down a country road next to farms and horses. As the day went on, I decided to look towards the smoke again and this time it was a massive column of smoke stretching into the sky. I stared at it for a bit before running to my neighbors house. I had only just moved from New York to this area, so I wanted their opinion. They left their house and looked with a "holy shit what the fuck? That has to be no more than a few miles away, and it's up-wind, holy shit!" I decided at that moment now might be a good time to call my parents back in new york to tell them about this. In the middle of the call, my phone vibrated and I got a message from the fire marshall worded exactly as follows: (("EMERGENCY ALERT, MODERATE Level 2 Evacuation, Get SET to Leave! Fire District 3 is asking residents between *road name*, *street name*, and *street name* to be prepared to leave at a moments notice. If you need extra time, or have pets or livestock, you are strongly encouraged to evacuate immediately. This may be your only notice. Monitor your phone and media for more information")) At this point I had woken up my partner and we got our bugout bags ready, but didn't progress further. The fire was far away, and at this point small and medium sized firefighting aircraft had begun entering the area trying to douse the fire. I went into the shed looking for some pet carriers for our cats just in case, before returning inside to call more people and try to learn as much as we could with what info was being shared. My partners father lived at a lake not too far away and was sharing videos from the other side of the fire of fire boss air tankers scooping up water from the lake in a line one right after the other. Fast forward 2 hours... My partner and I are at our screen door staring outside, our sprinkler system on full strength as the fire had expanded from a single point to most of the horizon south-east if our house, an enormous plume of smoke rising and blotting our the sun, with blue sky on either side. While standing there, thinking about what else we could do, we simultaneously received the same message on our phones: (("EMERGENCY ALERT, EXTREME Level 3 Evacuation, LEAVE NOW! Fire District 3 is asking residents between *road name*, *street name*, *road name*, and *our street name* to Leave IMMEDIATELY. This may be your only notice. Monitor your phone and media for more information")) We had been hoping for the best, but as we sprinted out to the front yard in a frenzied stupor, and trucks with horse trailers of all sized were speeding down our road with crying livestock in tow, a fireboss lead plane banked in over our heads with an enormous red and white 747 supertanker screaming in behind it, flying off and circling the flames before dropping it's payload not far from our house. Without thinking I ran to the chicken coop and threw the gate open, scaring the chickens away as we had no way of transporting them and didn't want them to have absolutely no chance. We then proceeded to dismantle our computers faster than I think I've ever done so in my life, and load up our cars. We threw the cats in the cat carriers with some blankets and water, filled some water bottles, left the sprinklers on. We got in our cars and were seconds away from leaving before we got another message: To summarize the series of tweets and text alerts we received, they managed to halt the blaze and get it under control less than half a mile from our house, on the other side of the tree line across the field away from our house. The now hundreds of firefighting planes absolutely bombarding the area with what must've been millions of gallons of water managed to spare us, and we got to let out the biggest sign of relief I think we've ever had before. Honestly we were about to lose close to everything, and nothing could've been done on our part to mitigate the effects. Wildfires are insane crazy events to have to deal with, and props to this kid for being so calm in the face of such a harrowing experience

[@cameronboggs7292]

I remember the darkness cast from the paradise fire and the following fires like Grizzley flats. Having to help evacuate animals and try to save what we could. Soaking properties the best we could with flames in sight. Crazy stuff. The camp fire, king fire, millions of acres over just a couple years. I still freeze in my tracks at the slightest wiff of smoke and try to locate it so I can help myself or my people if I need

[@neokenut]

im 14 rn, and when I was 12, back in 2019, that huge fire in Solano County came through my street. (I live in the country next to some hills and shit) I had to evacuate as I saw the fire rapidly coming down the hill. Luckily, the fire went around my property due to us flooding the fuck out of it. Hearing this story seriously reminds me of that time, and I can vividly remember how scared I was. I know exactly what this guy is talking about when he talks about the sky and shit. I'm glad he made it out alive and well with his family, and I know how fires like that can absolutely mind-fuck you.

[@shadowgirl765]

Totally terrifying! On the brightside, your other kitty may have survived on foot.

[@thegreatcolini4037]

I finished my first season of firefighting for a crew and it’s hard to imagine what it feels like to have to pack up and leave your life and your home and everything behind. Not everyone evacuates either, we were pulling into a neighborhood which was completely abandoned and as we were hiking up to the front to do structure defense there was a guy just sitting on his balcony with his 2 dogs. He just said thank you to us and there’s nothing else we can really do to make someone leave. Thankfully the neighborhood was saved and he survived but it’s still unimaginable

[@definitelynotaweeb6879]

I remember last year there were several wild fires near where my parents live, the smoke was so thick that you couldn't see 100 feet in front of you. At one point it got so dark that street lights started turning on at 1 pm. I believe that the air quality was over 400 for almost 2 weeks.

[@browneyed_6078]

I live in Chico and when the fire happened it was so dark and smoky it was shit and paradise is getting better

[@Azeal]

I'm glad things are getting better there at least :)

[@wumpols]

my dad used to live in paradise cali, i went there and it looks like its rebuilding nicely but its so sad

[@RediceRyan]

Wow, crazy. I was in this fire. In fact, I had stayed up to 3am the night before on vrchat. I had gotten VR in March of 2018. And met a really good friend on vrchat in October of 2018. I was a mute in game at the time. I had spent many hours with this friend the few weeks leading up to the fire. And on the night of November 7th 2018 we finally had the courage to talk on mic for the first time. It had meant a lot to me at the time. So much so that I made sure my VR headset was one of the few things I saved as I rushed out my house around 9am November 8th.

[@comdrive3865]

16:40 "when you hit rock bottom, there's nowhere to go but up", that's an interesting observation. Maybe we should challenge ourselves each day by forcing ourselves to do the hard thing (mental toughness) so that we can be less "comfortable" and more based in "reality"