David Dalberg News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

They had to turn back. >> it was all orange and smokey, there was a lot of black -- >> they're the same conditions rescuers faced, the fire's intensity forcing them to retreat. >> i needed to get somebody we had communication with um there. >> the chief then sent david dalberg up there to give it a shot. >> it was totally covered, i could not see the hood of my vehicle. >> a few hit my truck and rolled off. >> and then a wall of flame rolled across the road, keeping sheriff's deputies at bay. not dalberg, he was the only one to beat the flames. >> the fact that dave was able to get through is ...

California. cnn's stephanie elam has this week's "beyond the call of duty". >> reporter: it takes just a split second for this wildfire to explode. >> this was literally like a nuclear bomb went off. >> reporter: the intense flames blocking first responders from getting up this narrow dirt road. even worse, about 80 kids are enjoying summer camp at the circle b ranch, literally in the line of fire with no way out. >> i knew there wasn't a chance for the fire to go left or right. it was all funneling toward circle b. >> reporter: the counselors loaded the campers in the few cars they had, but t...

The rhoden enveloped in smoke, i couldn't even see the hood of my vehicle. >> reporter: rocks and tree limbs falling from above. >> a few hit my truck and rolled off. >> reporter: then a wall of flame rolled across the road, again keeping sheriff's deputies at bay, but not dalberg. he was the only one to beat the flames. >> the fact that dave was able to get through is still, frankly, a little bit of a mystery. >> do you think about what could have happened? >> it definitely could have been a lot worse. i try not to think about it. >> reporter: by now, the campers were all sheltered in the din...