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A storm chaser from Minnesota who found himself in a burning house in Los Angeles Forest fires in California this week described how his faith was an “instinct” as he prayed in a ember-strewn street during his escape.
Tanner Charles Schaaf, who flew to Los Angeles to spend time with friends over the holidays, said God told him to extend his trip by a few days.
“I prayed about it (and) I just felt like I needed to extend it,” Schaaf told Fox News Digital. “The next day the fires started.”
Tanner Charles Schaaf shared photos of the home he escaped with his friend during the wildfires in California. (Tanner Charles Schaaf)
Although Schaaf has been searching for natural disasters for more than 16 years, he said he has never seen a wildfire of this magnitude. Palisade fire.
He met with a friend who lived in the Los Angeles area and helped him pack, knowing that there would be great losses.
“We went (to his house) and started watering all the plants with a hose because I noticed that a lot of the vegetation would catch fire first before the houses caught fire,” Schaaf said. “We hosed down the trees and the house itself, trying really hard to make it as fireproof as possible.”
He and his friend stationed themselves in the front and back of the house, armed with hoses. They met inside to check on each other and saw a hot ember engulf a nearby tree and fence in flames.
“The entire fence caught fire in about 10 to 20 seconds,” Schaaf said. “I look (say): “Time to go. We can’t do that.” It was horrible.”
Tanner Charles Schaaf shared photos of the home he escaped with his friend during the wildfires in California. (Tanner Charles Schaaf)
A video posted by Schaaf of the couple running away from home has garnered millions of views on social media platform X.
“We tried, brother. I’m sorry,” Schaaf yells to his friend in the video. – We tried our best.
He said he heard random explosions, likening it to a war zone.
Tanner Charles Schaaf shared photos of the home he escaped with his friend during the wildfires in California. (Tanner Charles Schaaf)
“You’ve got embers coming off, the wind is blowing, you’ve got smoke, you’re hearing these explosions,” Schaaf said. “When the embers ignite things very close to us, you can hear the sound it makes – it’s just really loud… It felt like I was in a giant furnace.”
In another viral video, the two stride out onto a fiery street, and Schaaf can be heard praying over the neighborhood.
“God, defend this house in the name of Jesus,” he said, raising his hands toward the houses. “Protect this area God, I pray in Jesus name, amen.”
PALISADA RESIDENT DESCRIBES LOSS OF HOME IN FIRE
His friend replies from a distance: “This tree will kill us.”
Tanner Charles Schaaf shared photos of the home he escaped with his friend during the wildfires in California. (Tanner Charles Schaaf)
Incorporating faith into everything he does is important, especially in a situation where he knows his life will change forever, Schaaf said.
He recalled a conversation with an older man who was sitting on a corner with his young nephews, refusing to evacuate.
“He’s like, ‘Oh, we’re going to be fine.’ My house is fireproof,” Schaaf said. “There are things in the back of my mind where I think, ‘Did they really get out?’ .. Prayer is very important, (it) can change so many things.”
Schaaf said that a few years ago, he asked God to show him his power while he was chasing storms. He said God responded by telling him to start praying when he was in dangerous situations.
Tanner Charles Schaaf shared photos of the home he escaped with his friend during the wildfires in California. It burned to the ground in the fire, Schaaf said. (Tanner Charles Schaaf)
“(I started saying, ‘I pray for this tornado to disperse right now in the name of Jesus,’ and then I’ll see the tornadoes disperse in front of me,” Schaaf said. “You can look online and you can totally see it just happening around (me) right when I was praying. So to stop to pray (during the California wildfires) was instinctive.”
While it’s exciting to have viral videos, he said he’s focused on helping his friend out of the fire.
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“I like to document real things that people go through and what it looks like,” he said. “It just so happened that millions of people saw it. Hopefully people look at this and understand the gravity of the situation and what’s really going on… A rise to fame, if you will, it’s (me) just trying to do the best I can, trying to love people.”
