California fires touch base for BYU student

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    By Jim McCoy

    CHATSWORTH, CALIF. – At 1 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28, the California fires hit home for a former BYU student and his family.

    Jeremy Pearson, 25, who graduated from BYU last year, spent Tuesday morning helping fire fighters defend his parents house from a fire that has already claimed 14 lives, over 1,500 homes and charred 500,000 acres of land.

    “I stayed up all night with the fire fighters and watched as the fire swept over the mountain valley that we live in and reach the street in front of our house,” Pearson said.

    Flames threatened the Pearson home Tuesday morning, coming within 30 feet of their house.

    “Luckily the wind wasn”t blowing very strong this morning or we probably would have been consumed in flames,” said Marion Hill, Pearson”s mother.

    The fire that threatened the Pearson home began Friday night near Santa Clarita. Pearson said because of the fire the electricity and phone lines had been down for two days. The lack of these resources forced the Pearson”s and other neighborhood families to go to friend”s houses to get warm showers and hot meals. According to Hill the fire had been burning for so long and so much ash and smoke were in the air that even the day looked like night.

    “I was most surprised by the amount of smoke and ash in the air that made it hard to breath, and the faces of all the people helping were covered with black,” Hill said.

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