Collier Co family escapes fire near home. Neighbors prep, remember fires of years past

People in Collier County are doing what they can to make sure their loved ones are safe, as thousands of acres burn near home in Collier County Thursday.

Foster parents Luis Lorenzo and Aloima Kata say it’s a miracle their family is safe. They were able to evacuate and escape the flames near their home.

“It was scary,” Lorenzo said. “But God is good.”

That was after encroaching flames came inches from their home with Lorenzo and their seven children inside.

“Everything is burning so fast, so I think, ‘What can I do for my kids?’” Lorenzo said. “So I pick just my family, no things no nothing. No dress, nothing. Just my kids, my mom, and we’re going out.”

Meanwhile, Kata, a nurse at NCH, rushed home to find her street blocked with fire trucks and multiple crews battling the flames.

”It was so close and so aggressive, so fast,” Kata said.

It forced neighbors to escape.

”By the time we were leaving, the fire was on both sides already,” said. “So we had to drive through the fire.”

Evacuating during a pandemic, some families didn’t know where to find shelter.

”We spent the night at our church,” neighbor Joachim McDonald said.

Kata says if her husband didn’t work from home right now, she doesn’t know how her mother and kids would have made it out.

“They wouldn’t have had a car to go,” Kata said.

But they’re still staying positive.

”We’ve gone through so much,” Kata said. “And every time something bad happens, something great comes out of it.”