It started out as a normal Monday for the Kniss family, who live on Garcon Point Road in Milton.
But things changed quickly.
Husband and wife Ryan and Kelly Kniss, along with their kids 14-year-old Kyley and 15-year-old Kyran, had about 40 minutes to evacuate Wednesday afternoon as the massive Five Mile Swamp Fire closed in around them.
Live updates: I-10 opens; Wind shift expected to push Five Mile Swamp Fire north & strengthen
More: Residents return to find charred homes, land
They grabbed their two dogs and two cats, turned on the sprinkler system in their yard, turned on their generator, packed a few days’ worth of clothes and got their important papers and documents before fleeing the area.
“It was a little bit crazy, and it was quite intense,” said Kelly Kniss.
The family headed to the Hampton Inn in Navarre, where other evacuee families were going, and anxiously watched and waited. They were able to briefly access their security cameras and watched in horror as the flames lapped closer and closer to their home. They watched their shed with their truck, RV and boat burn to the ground.
Luckily, their house was spared.
“We could actually see the truck explode. We watched one of the fire crews fighting a blaze at our lean-to,” said Kelly Kniss. “As far as we know, our house is OK. We just pray it stays that way. In comparison to other people, we are very, very lucky.”
Several homes near the Kniss’ were leveled in the fire, and they know they’re still not out of the woods yet – the fire is remaining constant in size, and shifting winds Friday are pushing the flames north/northeast.
But they’re thankful they were able to evacuate safely with their pets, and are praying to be able to return to their home soon so they can begin picking up what pieces they can.
“I’ve learned just to be appreciative of everything we have, because you hear about the California wildfires and you don’t really think about the severity of it until you’re in it, and it’s just scary,” said 14-year-old Kyley. “A lot of my friends who live in Pace don’t realize the severity of it, so they don’t really care. I’ve just been keeping perspective and being thankful. It’s easy to take things for granted.”
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