Los Angeles Times

They survived six hours in pool as wildfire burned their neighborhood to ground

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Jan Pascoe and her husband, John, were trapped. The world was on fire, and Jan was hyperventilating from fear. Then they remembered their neighbors' pool.

"You've got to calm down, Jan," she told herself. "You can't go underwater and hyperventilate."

At 12:40 a.m. Monday, Jan called 911. She reached a dispatcher.

"We are going to get into the neighbors' pool, should we do this?"

The dispatcher said, "Get anywhere safe."

"Please. We will be in the pool," Jan replied. "This is where we are."

"In my naivete, all night long," she would tell me later, "I thought someone would come to get us."

Jan, 65, and her husband, John, 70, debated when to get in. She wanted to right away, but John said, "Hold off. The

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times2 min read
Dodgers Bat Boy On Saving Shohei Ohtani From Line Drive: 'Just Doing My Job'
SAN FRANCISCO — Javier Herrera set the snooze alarm on his 15 minutes of fame, the Dodgers bat boy soaking up the spotlight for one more day in the wake of his Shohei Ohtani-saving catch of a blistering line drive off the bat of Kiké Hernández during
Los Angeles Times2 min read
Crazy Town Frontman Shifty Shellshock Died Of Accidental Overdose, Manager Says
LOS ANGELES — Crazy Town frontman Seth "Shifty Shellshock" Binzer wanted to get help for his drug addiction before he died this week, according to his manager, who on Thursday revealed the musician's cause of death. Howie Hubberman, who represented t
Los Angeles Times2 min read
Fever's Caitlin Clark Cuts Off Reporters For Ignoring Teammate Aliyah Boston At News Conference
How do you know when it’s the right time to pass? What’s the best advice that’s been given to you during a game? What do you hope your legacy or stamp on the game will be? How do you go about not allowing frustration to affect your relationships with

Related Books & Audiobooks