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Homeowners defend home from LNU Lightning Complex Fire

A fire marshal told ABC10 they should evacuate when they are told instead of defending their homes from wildfires.

Cori Carlson described the view from her bedroom as the skies turned red, fire surrounded her family's room like a red ring around the valley.

“Pretty much it skirted down here it touched our fire lines and it’s completely 100% around us around the hills and touching all of the yards of the houses,” Carlson said.

Carlson said the 2017 Tubbs Fire, which burned 36,807 acres, came close to her doorstep. She said the LNU Lightning Complex Fire was different. Her family had to fight the fires themselves from engulfing their home when they did not receive help from firefighters, Carlson said.

“We just didn’t have the support of the crews and the fire department to help us. We just took any piece of equipment we had that could haul water any hoses we had that we’re lying around,” Carlson said.

Jay Tracy, a fire marshal, acting as a spokesperson for the LNU Lightning Complex Fire, told ABC10 people should evacuate when they are told, instead of staying behind to defend their homes from the flames. 

“If firefighters are having to come in we are obviously going to save lives first, so we are having to dedicate a lot of resources into getting people out and performing rescue on them which precludes us from fighting the fire and stopping it,” Tracy said.

Some evacuation orders were lifted in Napa County as firefighters continue to fight the flames blowing towards Yolo County.

“We have three deaths in Napa County and one in Solano county reported and four civilian injuries,” Tracy said. 

In the woods, orange flames grow larger as the wind blow, landfills burned, and fallen power lines are left behind from the wildfire.    

WATCH MORE: What you should know about evacuations amid wildfires

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