Warwick native escapes California wildfires

Everything changed last week for Laurie Moulton, a Warwick native who moved from Rhode Island to Paradise, California in 2015.

She moved to get a fresh start.

But on November 8, she was told to leave her home, which sits in the middle of three acres of land.

"I got a phone call from the Sheriff's Department saying, ‘Your area is under immediate evacuation. You need to leave immediately,’" Moulton told NBC 10 on the telephone.

Two exchange students were living with Moulton at the time the blaze began. She told them to grab their passports and the three of them left her home wearing only the clothes on their backs.

"The only thing on my mind was to get out," said Moulton. "I looked towards the back of the house and I saw the trees behind my house were already on fire."

Things of sentimental value were left behind, including her three beloved cats.

"I'm so sad," said Moulton. "I know they most likely didn't make it out."

Moulton has spent the last four days traveling town to town running away from the flames that continue to catch up.

Right now, she's safe in Sacramento running on little to no sleep. She has several questions about the place she called home for the last three years.

"We have no homes, most of the town has been leveled, people are wondering at this point what's the next step? Where are we going to go? What's going to happen with town?"

Moulton has most likely lost everything in the fire but feels blessed to have a support system In the Ocean State.

"To my friends and family in Rhode Island, they know I'm alive and well and that's the main thing," she said.

Moulton’s friends and family who still live in the area are sending their thoughts to her during this tough time.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help her.