Brett Wright

Evacuation Order Brett Wright

If you only had a few minutes to evacuate your house in the face of a wildfire, what would you take? And if you were separated from your mom and thought she was in danger, would you still leave - or would you head back in to rescue her?

Twelve-year-old Charlie Nguyen smells something faint from far away. Smoke. The Santa Ana winds are especially strong, so Charlie thinks nothing of it. Must be a bonfire or barbecue.

By morning, an unexpected southern California wildfire ferociously whips toward his town. Charlie, his friends, and the whole neighborhood must urgently evacuate with little warning.

When Charlie and his mom become separated during the emergency, they'll do anything to reunite. But as they've just witnessed, Mother Nature operates on her own scale. . . .