Survival stories start to emerge amid destruction from wildfires

By Holly Yan and Matt Wotus, CNN
Updated 9:07 AM EDT, Thu October 12, 2017

Story highlights

Several fire victims were awakened by their dogs

Some had only minutes to evacuate their homes

(CNN) —  

Ernie Chapman says his pooch, Sabrina, woke him and saved his life. The Block family managed to escape just five minutes before flames swallowed their home.

Amid the widespread destruction wrought by the California wildfires, fascinating tales of survival are starting to emerge.

Chapman said he received no warning that a raging inferno was headed toward his Santa Rosa home until one of his two dogs spoke up.

“My one dog, she’s really alert to things. She started barking and just wanting me to check on stuff,” Chapman said.

Ernie Chapman said his dog Sabrina, right, woke him up when the fire neared.
Ernie Chapman said his dog Sabrina, right, woke him up when the fire neared.
PHOTO: Ryan Young/CNN

He went outside and saw ash blowing in the wind and “embers dropping everywhere.”

“I just grabbed my keys, my truck and my dogs and took off,” he said.

On Wednesday, Chapman’s neighborhood looked like a scorched war zone. But he wasn’t complaining.

“I’m just glad to be here. Glad to have my dogs,” he said. “You can replace the stuff, but life is most important.”

’It looked like we were at war’

In Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood, Margaret Curzon’s mother, Karen, woke up to the smell of smoke. But she thought it was the neighbor’s chimney or a nearby barbecue, her daughter said. So she went back to sleep.

Aerial images showing parts of Sonoma and Napa County that have been hit by wildfires.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Aerial images showing parts of Sonoma and Napa County that have been hit by wildfires.
PHOTO: FRIDA/MEGA/Newscom
Colby Clark, left, comforts her mother, Bonnie Trexler, after law enforcement escorted them to Trexler
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Colby Clark, left, comforts her mother, Bonnie Trexler, after law enforcement escorted them to Trexler's home in Napa, California, to retrieve medicine and personal items on Wednesday, October 11. Trexler was one of the lucky few in her neighborhood whose home was spared. Deadly wildfires have been tearing through the state, destroying homes and businesses and prompting evacuation orders.
PHOTO: Randy Pench/The Sacramento Bee/AP
Highway Patrol officers go door to door to ask Sonoma residents to evacuate their homes as a wildfire approaches on October 11.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Highway Patrol officers go door to door to ask Sonoma residents to evacuate their homes as a wildfire approaches on October 11.
PHOTO: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Homes are destroyed in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa on October 11.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Homes are destroyed in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa on October 11.
PHOTO: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The sign of a Firestone store malfunctions in Santa Rosa on Tuesday, October 10.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The sign of a Firestone store malfunctions in Santa Rosa on Tuesday, October 10.
PHOTO: Karl Mondon/San Jose Mercury News/AP
Damaged winemaking vats and tanks stand in ashes and debris at the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Damaged winemaking vats and tanks stand in ashes and debris at the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa.
PHOTO: Ben Margot/AP
Smoke clouds the sun from wildfires burning in Santa Rosa and Napa Valley on October 10.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Smoke clouds the sun from wildfires burning in Santa Rosa and Napa Valley on October 10.
PHOTO: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images
Mary Caughey, center in blue, reacts after finding her wedding ring in the remains of her home in Kenwood on October 10.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Mary Caughey, center in blue, reacts after finding her wedding ring in the remains of her home in Kenwood on October 10.
PHOTO: Jeff Chiu/AP
Puddles of melted metal trail away from a burned-out car near Napa on October 10.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Puddles of melted metal trail away from a burned-out car near Napa on October 10.
PHOTO: Rich Pedroncelli/AP
A TV cameraman inches closer to a burning building at a winery in Napa Valley on Monday, October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A TV cameraman inches closer to a burning building at a winery in Napa Valley on Monday, October 9.
PHOTO: Peter DaSilva/Polaris
A firefighting plane helps battle a blaze just north of Tustin on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighting plane helps battle a blaze just north of Tustin on October 9.
PHOTO: Will Lester/The Orange County Register/AP
A historic barn burns in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A historic barn burns in Santa Rosa on October 9.
PHOTO: Kent Porter/The Press Democrat/AP
The Santa Rosa Hilton Hotel burns to the ground on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The Santa Rosa Hilton Hotel burns to the ground on October 9.
PHOTO: Paul Kuroda/ZUMA Wire
Jim Stites watches as part of his neighborhood burns in Fountaingrove on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Jim Stites watches as part of his neighborhood burns in Fountaingrove on October 9.
PHOTO: Kent Porter/The Press Democrat via AP
Fire burns from an open gas valve near the pool area of a Santa Rosa trailer park on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Fire burns from an open gas valve near the pool area of a Santa Rosa trailer park on October 9.
PHOTO: Ben Margot/AP
A man rushes to save his house as a wildfire moves through Glen Ellen on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A man rushes to save his house as a wildfire moves through Glen Ellen on October 9.
PHOTO: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Kristine Pond searches what
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Kristine Pond searches what's left of her family's home in Santa Rosa on October 9.
PHOTO: Jeff Chiu/AP
Police cars block State Route 241 as smoke rises above Orange on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Police cars block State Route 241 as smoke rises above Orange on October 9.
PHOTO: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
A firefighter douses flames in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighter douses flames in Santa Rosa on October 9.
PHOTO: Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
A woman moves horses in Orange as strong Santa Ana winds blow smoke from the Canyon 2 fire toward them on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A woman moves horses in Orange as strong Santa Ana winds blow smoke from the Canyon 2 fire toward them on October 9.
PHOTO: ROBYN BECK/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
A firefighter douses flames at a home in Anaheim on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighter douses flames at a home in Anaheim on October 9.
PHOTO: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Traffic backs up as people flee Orange on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Traffic backs up as people flee Orange on October 9.
PHOTO: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Santa Rosa residents sift through the remains of a burned home on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Santa Rosa residents sift through the remains of a burned home on October 9.
PHOTO: Kent Porter/AP
The remains of fire-damaged homes and cars smolder at a Santa Rosa trailer park on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The remains of fire-damaged homes and cars smolder at a Santa Rosa trailer park on October 9.
PHOTO: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A tent structure built for the Safeway Open golf tournament burns in Napa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A tent structure built for the Safeway Open golf tournament burns in Napa on October 9.
PHOTO: JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images
Fire consumes a barn in Glen Ellen on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Fire consumes a barn in Glen Ellen on October 9.
PHOTO: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Smoke rises in the hills east of Napa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Smoke rises in the hills east of Napa on October 9.
PHOTO: Michael Short/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
A man passes a burning house in Napa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A man passes a burning house in Napa on October 9.
PHOTO: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
The remains of fire-damaged homes are seen in Glen Ellen on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The remains of fire-damaged homes are seen in Glen Ellen on October 9.
PHOTO: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A wildfire burns behind the Sonoma Raceway on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A wildfire burns behind the Sonoma Raceway on October 9.
PHOTO: Steve Page/AP
A building burns in Napa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A building burns in Napa on October 9.
PHOTO: Noah Berger/San Francisco Chronicle/Polaris
Flames overtake a building in the Napa wine region on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Flames overtake a building in the Napa wine region on October 9.
PHOTO: JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images
Two women hug as they watch houses burn in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Two women hug as they watch houses burn in Santa Rosa on October 9.
PHOTO: Jeff Chiu/AP

Curzon’s parents only woke up for good after their bichon frise, Brady, started whimpering. Curzon’s father Ed looked outside thought there may have been a bombing.

“It looked like we were at war,” Curzon said. “The sky was orange, and there were embers falling from the sky.”

Curzon said her parents had five to 10 minutes to grab their two dogs and anything else they could gather before jumping in their car.

She said it took about half an hour for her mom and dad get out of their neighborhood because cars were bumper to bumper.

“He could feel the car getting hotter and hotter because the fire kept creeping up and getting closer to them,” she said.

When the family returned, the only item remaining was a concrete statue of the Virgin Mary.

“If it wasn’t for my dog whimpering and waking my parents up, my God,” Curzon said. “I don’t know what would have happened.”

’We had to evacuate within five minutes’

Zach Block and his brother tried to fight off flames in the backyard of Block’s Santa Rosa home, but their hoses were no match for the flames.

Block awoke at 1 a.m. and smelled the fire. He woke his wife and also his brother, and they went to figure out how close the flames were to the house.

“As we were looking in the back, the backyard, we started to notice that the air started to become a little bit more dense in smoke, and then there’s a lot of light from the fire shining on the other side of the freeway,” Block said.

“And then within 10 minutes, you know, my brother and I were out in the backyard with the hoses and trying to fight off as much as we could.”

This aerial image shows a Santa Rosa neighborhood that was destroyed by fire.
This aerial image shows a Santa Rosa neighborhood that was destroyed by fire.
PHOTO: Nick Giblin/DroneBase/AP

As the fire continued its rapid approach toward the house, Block realized they had to evacuate. As it turns out, they only had five minutes to escape.

After leaving with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, Block and his family watched as the flames engulfed their home. It’s one of around 2,000 structures that have been destroyed by the wildfires so far.

“You know, we’re kinda figuring it out as we come across the things that we need to worry about,” Block said. “The support has been unreal, and we’re just kinda taking it one step at a time.”

CNN’s Ryan Young, David Williams and Jason Hanna contributed to this report.