Page 8 - Eric Marks News Today

Middletown, california, a normally quiet community of 1,300 residents, about 70 miles north of san francisco. that all changed on september 12th, 2015, after months of unusually dry heat, an enormous wildfire erupts, sending 200-foot-high flames racing toward the town. >> the trees and the topography and the type of material that was burned had not burned in many, many years, which contributed to the fast rate spread of flame. >> get in the car. >> 16-year-old eric was watching the inferno from ...

Them with any materials available? >> you shouldnt cover any vehicle with window coverings due to the fact that those are combustible materials and those materials itself will start to catch fire just based on the radiated heat. >> and rolling down your windows will only let the elements in faster. so if you chose b, you made the correct decision. keep those windows closed. >> what you want to do is try to stay encapsulated inside that vehicle as best as you possibly can. its imperative that you...

>> in the chaos, eric and his brother lose contact with their family. panicked, they decide to stay in their car and try to reach the nearby highway, but it doesnt take long to realize their mistake. >> there was fire hitting the window, embers. you could barely see five feet in front of you even with the headlights. we were driving on what we thought the road was. the entire engine compartment caught on fire, the wheels caught on fire. our feet, we could feel the flames burning the metal and th...

Window slightly and then cover them with any materials available. >> you shouldnt cover any vehicle with window coverings due to the fact that those are combustible materials and those materials itself will start to catch fire just based on the radiated heat. >> and rolling down your windows will only let the elements in faster. so if you chose b, you made the correct decision. keep those windows closed. >> what you want to do is try to stay encapsulated inside that vehicle as best as you possib...

>> in the chaos, eric and his brother lose contact with their family. panicked, they decide to stay in their car and try to reach the nearby highway, but it doesnt take long to realize their mistake. >> there was fire hitting the window, embers. you could barely see five feet in front of you even with the headlights. we were driving on what we thought the road was. the entire engine compartment caught on fire, the wheels caught on fire. our feet, we could feel the flames burning the metal and th...

You have no choice, but to pa c panic. >> middletown, california, a normally quiet community of 1300 residents, about 70 miles north of san francisco. that all changed on september 12, 2015, after months of unusually dry heat an enormous wildfire erupts sending 200-foot high flames racing toward the town. the trees and the topography and the type of material that was burned had not burned in many, many years which contributed to the fast spread of flame. >> get in the car! >> 16-year-old eric ma...

♪ >> get in the car! >> 16-year-old eric marks is watching the inferno from his grandmothers house in middletown -- >> go! >> when suddenly the massive inferno is blocking all exits. >> oh, god. >> so what would you do? youre fleeing a burning town when you suddenly find your exit blocked by flames. should you, a, ditch the car and flee on foot, b, drive around and find a structure to hide inside or c, step on the gas and power through? with the flames rising, you might be tempted to step on i...

The vehicle. >> what i see is the kids, you know, with the car burning. i was panicking. i was shaking for the whole commotion that was happening, but just to think that im going to lose them i was feeling numb, but i got out and ran to them. >> eric and his extended family make it out, but his grandmothers house is totally destroyed along with 60% of middletowns other homes. in the end, several firefighters suffered severe burns and four civilians lost their lives. >> i do think its a miracle t...

From all sides, erics relatives take off in other vehicles while he jumps in the car with his brother. but as the brothers approach a nearby highway, they run straight into a wall of flames. >> hold on. hold on. >> what the [ bleep ]. >> go, go. its fire on the highway and youre in the hot seat. and later, how would you fare during an attack by an armed intruder? >> it looked like for some reason, this is going to be day i die. someone sent someone to kill me. wait...is this where you typica...

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> get in the car! >> 16-year-old eric marks is watching the inferno from his grandmothers house in middletown -- >> go! >> when suddenly the massive inferno is blocking all exits. >> oh, god. >> so what would you do? youre fleeing a burning town when you suddenly find your exit blocked by flames. should you, a, ditch the car and flee on foot, b, drive around and find a structure to hide inside or c, step on the gas and power through? with the flames riding, you might be tempted ...