Page 13 - Eric Marks News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> get in the car! >> 16-year-old eric marks is watching the inferno from his grandmother's house in middletown -- >> go! >> when suddenly the massive inferno is blocking all exits. >> oh, god. >> so what would you do? you're 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 may be tempted to step on it. >> a running vehicle itself when it becomes overcome by a large amount of smoke will eventually shut ...

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. it's imperative that you ensure the windows are fully closed and visibility is maintained. it's going to be difficult to see but what you need to do is slow down as best as you can and insure you have space between you and possibly another vehic...

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 his grandmother's house in middletown when suddenly -- >> i saw the fire jump the road so i told eve...

And making a run for it isn't much better. >> you should not flee on foot. you most likely would be safer in a structure that would protect you for a matter of moments rather being in the direct line of the wildfire. that fire front will move over you very rapidly, and you have a better chance of survivability by putting yourself inside of a structure. >> the correct answer is b, but if no structure is available there is another option. >> the best sort of escape in a vehicle is to find some sort of open area that has a low fuel, that has some dirt around it, that does not have something that ...

Know, with the car burning. i was panicking. i was shaking for the whole commotion that was happening, but just to think that i'm 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 grandmother's house is totally destroyed along with 60% of middletown's other homes. in the end, several firefighters suffered severe burns and four civilians lost their lives. >> i do think it's a miracle that we survived. it was the scariest thing of my life, and it always will be. nothing can top that. >> to avoid finding yourself in such a d...