SAN DIEGO --
A freelance photographer was reunited Thursday with the Northern California fire crew that saved his life during last week's firestorm.
Nick Morris was shooting photos of the Witch Fire the morning of Oct. 22 near Escondido when he said he underestimated the blaze. He told NBC 7/39 he thought he was shooting his pictures from a safe distance, when suddenly he realized he was alone -- the firefighters had left the area.
That's when he says flames surrounded him and there was no way out. He even called his wife that morning and said goodbye.
"I just got real peaceful. I wasn't panicking anymore. Everything got calm. I wasn't looking for a way out. There was nowhere to go," Morris said.
But things suddenly took a different turn.
"When I was ready to curl up and wait for the inevitable, a fire truck came blazing through the fire. The guy's screaming, 'Get into the cab. We'll get you out of here,'" said Morris.
"It was a pretty proud moment for our entire strike team," said one member of the fire crew.
The group met up again Thursday in Escondido.
"I could never thank you guys enough," Morris said. "And I could never apologize to you enough for going up there in the first place. I owe them my life."
That strike team was in San Diego from Amador-El Dorado Counties, just east of Sacramento.
One of Nick's photos made the cover of the North County Times. He bought copies for every member of the fire crew and promised to send them pictures he took of everyone fighting the fire that night.
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