Woman and her dog survive fire that destroyed historic mining town Chinese Camp, but left homeless
CHINESE CAMP, Calif. (KGO) -- As firefighters continue to battle the TCU September Lightning Complex Fire in the Sierra foothills, one woman with links to the Bay Area described escaping the flames in Chinese Camp as her home burned.
Paulina Ken has lived in Chinese Camp for the past 14 years. She says it felt like her hair, dress, and shoes were burning as she escaped.
"Police were screaming, 'Get out, get out quick!' I try to survive, but I cry at the same time," Ken said. "I almost get electric shock. I just jump over the thing to get to my car. My whole body smells like smoke and fire."
RELATED: Fire burns historic mining town Chinese Camp after more than 10,000 lightning strikes across CA
ABC7 News spoke with Ken along with her niece Jennifer Ken, of San Francisco via Facebook Messenger Video. She was able to get out of her home as the flames got closer, but in the chaos she left her dog Waldo, and all her items behind. She was told her home had burned, and she even saw the destruction of her property on TV.
Miraculously, Ken learned Wednesday that Waldo survived. It appears he has an injured paw but is doing okay. She said a neighbor of hers contacted her to tell her the good news.
"I'm just so happy to know that he's still alive, I don't know how he's still alive," Ken said. "The whole town was burning and he's still alive. I don't know how injured his paw is a little bit, but my friend said he would be alright."
MAP: Track wildfires across California
Ken is currently staying at a nearby casino/hotel, but doesn't know where she'll go from there. She did not have insurance on her home and didn't even grab any of her clothes. She's hoping that maybe she'll be able to raise money and buy a small trailer to live in on her property.
If you'd like to help Paulina out, her niece Jennifer has started a GoFundMe.
