College Student Flees California Flames

Wednesday, October 24th 2007, 3:44 pm

By: News On 6

Some evacuees have moved into shelters out of the fire zone in California. Others are leaving the state to wait out the flames. The News On 6â€™s Emory Bryan reports a young woman from Claremore has been evacuated from her college apartment in San Diego.

Leah Knight is happy to be back in Oklahoma. She's a college student in San Diego who evacuated on Tuesday. Her mother is happier than anybody.

"When she called me at three in the morning Monday morning and said she could see a wall of fire, and we're so far away, it was pretty scary,â€ said Leahâ€™s mother, JoAnna Knight.

Leah lives near San Diego State University, and says the fire wasn't far away and the smoke was thick.

"I was up in the northern part of the county Sunday at a friendâ€™s house, and we could see the fire in the distance and they thought it's not going to get here, but the next morning they were being evacuated. The winds carried it. It traveled that fast,â€ said fire evacuee Leah Knight.

With the wildfires coming closer, Leah says she didn't need much convincing when her family urged her to come home. She says it was heartbreaking to see so many homes destroyed, especially since some of the same neighborhoods burned four years ago.

"I feel really bad for people because they've rebuilt their houses and now they've burned down again,â€ said fire evacuee Leah Knight.

"I think it's worse than anyone realizes,â€ added JoAnna Knight, Leahâ€™s mother.

Leah says she plans to return to San Diego this weekend. She expects her classes will resume next week.

Watch the video: Oklahoman Returns Home After Evacuation From California Wildfires

To check the current status of the wildfires in California, click here.