Pennsylvania native describes the terror of living near Los Angeles-area wildfires
A Chester County native now living in California described the terror of being near four wildfires burning out of control on Wednesday.
Christine Sheller was born and raised in West Chester but now calls Granada Hills in the San Fernando Valley home. She said it is scary being just five miles away from the closest wildfire.
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"Things feel a little bit surreal," Sheller said. "I feel a little jolted. I'm from Philadelphia. I'm not used to wildfires. I think we've kind of mentally prepared ourselves for earthquakes, but not wildfires."
Sheller lives just outside the evacuation zone but has her bags packed in case the flames get closer.
"We're seeing gusts of up to 100 miles an hour at times," Sheller said. "The house is shaking, you know, so we're physically feeling it in house. Things are flying everywhere, and there's clearly lots of smoke in the air."
That smoke can be seen for miles away. Tony Owens, who lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Lawndale, said he can see it from his house.
"They're telling folks, especially those closer to the fire than I am, to wear masks because of the air quality," Owens said. "It's not going to be very good."
Many people are concerned about the firefighters who have been working round the clock to get the wildfires under control.
"I can't imagine how they must be feeling, and they must be exhausted, and I'm super grateful for all the work that they do," Sheller said.
As the wildfires burn out of control, Sheller said she, her husband and their two French bulldogs are prepared to evacuate.
"We just had this moment where I thought, like, you know, I have this beautiful house, but things are things, and what's really important is my husband and my dogs and my family," Sheller said.
She's focusing on what matters most while continuing to monitor the situation.