Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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Samantha Hayes reportingImagine watching the Southern California wildfires heading toward your home while you're hundreds of miles away. That's the case for a BYU student who's watching much of his neighborhood go up in flames.
Nate Duchein is from a little community in San Diego where his Mother and Father still live.
His parents have already been evacuated once this week.
KNBC Television: "BESIDES LAKE ARROWHEAD, EAST OF 330, IN RUN END SPRINGS IS ALSO A THREAT TONIGHT. WE'VE BEEN HEARING THAT FROM A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT SOURCES. AND AS COLLEEN JUST MENTIONED THE HOMES ARE IN THE CEDAR GLENN AREA."
It seems unstoppable- new reports of the fires jumping another street, threatening another community.
For Nathaniel Duchein, it's on his street. It's near his home.
Nathaniel Duchein BYU Student: "I WASN'T SCARED SO MUCH FOR MY HOUSE AS FOR MY FAMILY BEING SAFE."
They live in Scripps Ranch in San Diego.
Sunday night his family and neighbors gathered up their valuables and evacuated as flames erupted in the background.
Nathaniel: "THEY WENT OVER TO OUR CHURCH HOUSE, AND STAYED OVER THERE WITH SOME OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR CHURCH."
Duchein's home was spared, but many of his neighbors have lost everything. Some of them are in care centers. He describes his old highschool as a refugee camp.
Nathaniel: "IT'S GOING TO BE SO DIFFERENT BECAUSE HALF OF OUR COMMUNITY HAS JUST BEEN TORCHED. I HAVEN'T REALLY EVER BEEN REAL CLOSE TO A FIRE. THERE ARE FIRES THAT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BUT IT'S NEVER IN MY HOME, SO I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT."
As the winds shift, sometimes away from his neighborhood and sometimes toward it, his family is in a constant touch-and-go situation. Nobody knows what to expect.
Nathaniel: "I JUST CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO IMAGINE THE LOSS SOME FAMILIES HAVE FELT."
Duchein also has an uncle who has a home in the Arrowhead Lake area. That house was destroyed. Right now he's just thankful all his family members are safe.
