FRAZIER PARK, CA - Frazier Mountain High School students returned to school Friday, two days after firefighters evacuated the campus because of the approaching Grand Fire.
The school was untouched, but as students arrived they could see just how close the flames came to destroying the home of the Frazier Falcons.
"It was just a normal day as usual with a big plume of smoke in the distance and all of a sudden the wind picked up and there it was," said Jonathan Bucio, a senior at Frazier Mountain High School. "It really moved fast."
"It just seemed like the wind and smoke were just coming at us," said Adam St. Cyr, a junior at Frazier Mountain High School.
Just after 1 p.m., the school was evacuated, sending about 300 students away from the fire.
Maxie Rosales sent us a video as one school bus drove away.
"I was seeing that in the distance, and I was just like so glad to get out of here," said Bucio.
Helicopters flew overhead and emergency vehicles rushed toward the school as hundreds watched from a distance at what looked like the school burning down.
"I knew it was going to get crazy, but I didn't think it was going to be that fast," said St. Cyr. "It was just like in ten minutes darker and darker smoke."
With a suppression crew parked on the school's football field, firefighters stopped the flames just short of the stadium stands.
"I mean it's kind of neat to see the aftermath you hardly ever see it because it's off somewhere else," said Bucio.
But Friday, the charred grass was in the high school's backyard, as students looked on from a distance recognizing the firefighting heroes during morning announcements.
"The Kern County Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service did a great job," said a voice over a loud speaker.
Because nothing was damaged, the school's baseball team gets to host their first playoff at home.