Madison Lowe was trying to drive out of the Placida area neighborhood of their spring rental home toward the Rays stadium Monday when she came face-to-face with it.
“I couldn’t see at all,’’ she said Tuesday. “It was complete smoke. I couldn’t even see an inch in front of me. And there’s ash hitting the car.’’
She immediately called her husband, Rays infielder Brandon Lowe, to tell him the neighborhood appeared to be on fire and the roads she was familiar with leading out were blocked.
“The last thing I heard was, ‘We can’t get out, there’s smoke everywhere,’ ‘’ Brandon Lowe said. “That was in my head. I was terrified what might actually happen.”
He said something to outfielder Austin Meadows, with whom they are sharing the house, then raced out of the Rays complex and jumped in his truck to make the 20-or-so minute drive that seemed to take forever.