SANTA ROSA, CA (KTXL/CNN) - A college student was on her way home from studying at 2 a.m. Monday when she realized her home was in the path of a fast-moving wildfire.
Natasha Wallace, who also plays soccer at Santa Rosa Junior College, saw the fire from the freeway and realized she had to evacuate immediately.
And that meant getting out with her 4-year-old pitbull Bentley.
"I would never part ways with my dog. Ever,” she said.
Wallace shoved her dog into her Honda and drove down the road. However, within minutes, she was stuck between other cars - including one that had flipped over.
"[The fire] was coming faster than I could leave in traffic, so I went back and got my bike," she said.
She grabbed a duffle bag and turned it into a makeshift sidecar for her 70-pound dog.
"So, I grabbed my dog and I told him, hey man this is serious, you need to just sit in the bag. He hopped right in," she said.
She threw one of the straps of the bag over her neck and shoulders, balanced the bag in front of her, and started pedaling.
After a few miles down the road, Paul Johnson pulled over his truck and gave Wallace and Bentley a ride out of danger.
"I just want to say thank you to him - Paul Johnson," she said.
Thursday evening was her birthday, and she reflected how grateful she is to be alive. Her neighborhood is destroyed and she lost everything, but she has people around her to help her move forward.
"I don’t even know how to express how grateful I am," she said.
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