‘No time at all’: Nebraskans now living in L.A. area flee wildfires engulfing neighborhoods
By Aaron Hegarty
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OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — Holdrege native and University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate Todd Nelson has lived in the Los Angeles area for decades now.
On Tuesday, he says his family had “no time at all” before they decided they needed to leave their Pasadena home. They could see flame just over a hill.
He said Wednesday evening his home is still standing, but said several of his friends lost everything “including some of the friends who asked if we needed a place to stay,” Nelson said. “We could’ve gone to their house. We thought they were well out of the fire danger zone, maybe five miles or so from where the fire started. But within an hour, their house was engulfed.”
On Tuesday, Grand Island native and UNO grad Gustavo Bauer returned to Los Angeles after a few weeks back in Nebraska.
As he was on his way to meet a client at his company’s office that day, he saw flames ahead. He decided to turn around. Now, the company believes that office was destroyed.
So, he interviewed with KETV on Wednesday from a different office in the area. But soon after the interview, that office was evacuated too.
Lincoln-raised author and actor Harley Jane Kozak considers herself lucky.
She told KETV she hasn’t needed to evacuate, but she has “heartache” for many others, “especially for Topanga,” she said, “where my kids were born and spent their early years. So many landmarks already gone and friends facing the loss of their homes.”
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