mindy levinson got a text message, like thousands of others, from authorities saying she had minutes to evacuate. through the choking smoke, she grabbed her son, dog, and ran out. >> it hurts a lot to think of going back there, and finding my house in ruins and charred. >> reporter: some 32,000 horrified residents stuffed belongings into their cars and scrambled to get to safety. including 700 cadets and personnel from the air force academy, which was partially evacuated. >> i've never seen anything so scary. >> reporter: many people captured the terrifying moments on their cell phones. >> it's happened. it's coming over the hill. >> reporter: the fire doubled in size overnight, scorching more than 15,000 acres. the evacuation zone mapping the path of the flames. at times, moving at a rate of three football fields a minute. yesterday's 65-mile-per-hour winds fueled the blaze out of control, lifting an explosion of red hot embers, some as heavy as a pound, carrying them as far as a half mile away, where they showered down on nearby homes, those with wooden shake-shingle roofs didn't s