PARADISE Calif. - Like thousands of others on the morning of Nov. 8 Heather Burnett grabbed her dog escaped with her life in Paradise.

Jason Burnett, her husband, was on the phone with her as it happened.

What makes this couple unique is that in the weeks following the fire both have received pardons for past crimes from California Governor Jerry Brown.

Jason was first, receiving his pardon just days before Thanksgiving.

After a nearly two-year process, Heather Burnett thought maybe her pardon had been forgotten.

"To be honest, I was wondering if I had been forgotten and so in the stress of things I kind of forgot again and then I got the call the morning of Christmas Eve,” Heather said. 

Jason and Heather have both become upstanding citizens in the wake of their crimes.

Now the couple along with their 14-year-old daughter will start the process of rebuilding in the wake of the fire.

But for them, this pardon means a lot and they say will now serve as a glimmer of hope during this difficult time.

“This experience with the Camp Fire, and losing everything, we are one couple among thousands still going through this but this will serve as a light,” they said.