OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — An evacuation point at El Camino High School in Oceanside has been set up for people impacted by the November Fire, which was burning at Camp Pendleton.
“So, as I was coming up, I can see the fire on the mountaintop and all the smoke, and then they were evacuating the golf course,” Tihesia Parker said. “It was about a little over a half a mile from us.”
Parker was working at her job in San Diego when she got word about what was happening near her home on Douglas Drive in Oceanside.
“Oh, I jumped up from my desk, and I ran to my boss, and I said, I have to go. And I got in my car and I drove as fast I could here,” Parker said.
As the November Fire broke out, Parker raced to her and her husband Foley’s home by the Oceanside Golf Course. They grabbed their dogs — Daisy, Milay and Oreo — and came to El Camino High School.
They weren’t the only ones, as at least a dozen families came to the evacuation point, like Alexandria Lopez and her family.
“I didn't think it was going to be right behind us, like until I went outside and checked out and it was right behind us,” Lopez said. “I didn't think something like this was going to happen, and we didn't know what to do in the moment because, you know, it's something that we aren't prepared for.”
For Lopez, it’s a surreal moment seeing a fire raging not too far from your home; rushing to get out with what's important.
“As long as all of us are out there and together and with the animals and things like that, I think that's all that matters, you know, because everything else is replaceable,” Lopez said.
It was a similar mindset for Parker.
“It's OK to let go. Sometimes disasters happen, and you have a chance to do something new. My main concern was my family, stuff I can always replace,” Parker said.
Some of the Oceanside Police Department officers at the evacuation point told ABC 10News the gym's been opened up for people to get water, sit down, take a break, and places to relieve their pets after evacuating.
