Woman flees as monster fire invades her town in Kern County - Los Angeles Times
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Woman flees as monster fire invades her town in Kern County

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Smoking a cigarette inside her black Jeep, Cher Buys, 63, has been trying to stay hopeful that her home in Weldon is still standing after a massive Kern County fire swept through.

“I have friends checking for me right now,” she said Friday outside Kernville Elementary School.

She said she was at home in bed when the electricity went out around 7 p.m. She said she walked outside and saw thick smoke.

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“You couldn’t see the neighbor’s house next door,” she said.

She saw the flames approaching and decided to get a head start and evacuate. She grabbed essentials such as toiletry and extra clothes.

As she was leaving, firefighters were arriving to evacuate people. She said the flames of the fire were high and the winds pushed it forward.

“It just kept climbing and climbing over the mountains,” she said. “For it to move through five towns is a lot. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” she added.

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The 25-year resident said she drove to a nearby elementary school in Weldon thinking an evacuation center had been set up, but when she got there it was closed.

She said some other evacuees were “crying their guts out.”

The fire has burned more than 80 homes, making it the most destructive California wildfire this year.

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