- Deadly wildfires in California continue to displace residents and wipe out the livelihood of some.
- He faced the reality of wildfires when he saw embers from the California fires affecting his area.
- Rourke is currently navigating the challenges brought on by the wildfires while continuing his work.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Central High School graduate Sean Rourke lives an action-packed life in Los Angeles, working on visual effects in fight scenes in movies like The Hunger Games, Twisters and avengers Infinity War.
"We do, you know, Godzilla crushing buildings and monsters firing lasers at, you know, UFOs," said Rourke.
But that action packed life took a serious turn this week, when Rourke turned on the news and saw that embers from the California Wildfires had caused fires to break out in the Hollywood Hills, just up the street from where he lives.
"And seeing my street name, running up to the base of that hill where the fire was creeping down and we were just assuming like, oh God, if it's anything like The, you know, either of the other two fires, it's going to eat all the way down into our neighborhood," said Rourke.
Rourke has been living in California for over 25 years and says he hasn't been this close to a wildfire before.
"Every once in a while, there will be like, you know, just some accident will occur and a fire will break out up in the hills someplace and immediately there's a helicopter flying over dumping water on it," said Rourke.
The fire department was able to put out the flames and the evacuation order in the area was lifted Thursday morning.
Rourke says moments like these give him a deeper appreciation for life and loved ones.
"Going through the last 48 hours here in Los Angeles has reminded me of how amazing everybody back home in Omaha is because I was just, I've been flooded with texts and phone calls from family and friends and people who I haven't even talked to in years asking if I'm OK," said Rourke.
Though the evacuation order has been lifted Rourke says he and his wife are keeping their car packed up and ready to go in case they need to leave at a moment’s notice.
