SANTA PAULA, CALIFORNIA — A Galion High School alumnus is in the middle of the Thomas Fire currently raging across the state of California.
The firestorm has destroyed 90,000 acres of land stretching more than 10 miles from Santa Paula to the Pacific Ocean, according to the LA Times.
Dustin Dillon moved to Santa Paula in 2004 to live with his wife. He lives in an isolated area dubbed “Oaks,” which, he explained, is riddled with Oak trees.
Dillon received a call from a friend warning him the Thomas Fire was close.
“I walked out and saw smoke,” he said. “It was close.”
He said his wife evacuated later that morning, and police came early the next day asking everyone to do the same.
The two went to his wife’s parents’ home, about two miles away.
The fire storm is intense, Dillon said, driven by extreme winds of up to 40 to 50 miles per hour.
His isolated oak-covered area was saved.
Some might say it’s a miracle; Dillon said it was the wind.
“The wind blew the fire toward Ventura,” he said, back in his home. “I feel lucky for our neighborhood.”
Ventura was not as lucky.
Dillon thanked the bevy of fire departments who have worked to keep Californians safe.
“We owe it all to the hundreds of firefighters,” he said. “I’ve lost track of how many fire trucks I’ve seen. They are really the reason we are OK.”
Even now Dillon and his wife are weary of the fire.
Dillon said he is keeping watch while things look calm around his home.
“I don’t see fire anymore — only smoke,” he said. “If I see fire, I’ll leave.”
Until then, he said he is taking precautions.
He waters his roof regularly to ward off any loose embers and is constantly monitoring the area.
“If anything happens,” he said, “I’ll leave.”
