Photo: YouTube screenshot / Justin Bilton
When the only thing standing between yourself and your survival is a raging wildfire, you’d better arm yourself with courage and drive out of the danger zone.
That seems to have been the motto of 70-year-old Charlie Bilton, who had been backpacking with his son Justin in the Glacier National Park, Montana. They had just set up camp when they saw lightning strike and ignite a small fire, ABC News reports.
In minutes, that small fire had turned into a raging inferno, burning alongside the road they had come up on with their rental car. They realized that the only way they could escape from this alive was to try their luck at driving down the road – and hope for the best.
They captured the incredible journey through “hell” on their cellphone. That’s how Justin described it and it surely fits: at one point, they have to bring the car to a complete stop because they have zero visibility and are surrounded by flames from all sides.
Throughout the ride down, you hear Justin, who is behind the wheel, worrying that the car might explode. It’s already heating up and Justin is also concerned that a tree might fall on top of it, in which case it would mean certain death.
Meanwhile, his father keeps cool. He’s urging Justin to “slow down,” to make sure he can see where he’s going, and instructing him when to turn to avoid flames. At one point, when Justin stops the car, Charlie wants to step out of the vehicle and try to move a burning tree that had fallen on the road.
It was there that their ride ended. They left the car and went back on foot, until they saw a boat and men in it, and flagged it. They were rescued by water.
“When my dad decided he was going to get out to move the burning tree I was most scared because I didn't think I could stop the stubborn old man! He's def cool under pressure.” Justin says.
“Had to reverse all the way back through all that to get back to the trailhead and down to the lake. The car burned shortly after we abandoned it and got rescued by a boat that just happened to be there,” he adds.
In minutes, that small fire had turned into a raging inferno, burning alongside the road they had come up on with their rental car. They realized that the only way they could escape from this alive was to try their luck at driving down the road – and hope for the best.
They captured the incredible journey through “hell” on their cellphone. That’s how Justin described it and it surely fits: at one point, they have to bring the car to a complete stop because they have zero visibility and are surrounded by flames from all sides.
Throughout the ride down, you hear Justin, who is behind the wheel, worrying that the car might explode. It’s already heating up and Justin is also concerned that a tree might fall on top of it, in which case it would mean certain death.
Meanwhile, his father keeps cool. He’s urging Justin to “slow down,” to make sure he can see where he’s going, and instructing him when to turn to avoid flames. At one point, when Justin stops the car, Charlie wants to step out of the vehicle and try to move a burning tree that had fallen on the road.
It was there that their ride ended. They left the car and went back on foot, until they saw a boat and men in it, and flagged it. They were rescued by water.
“When my dad decided he was going to get out to move the burning tree I was most scared because I didn't think I could stop the stubborn old man! He's def cool under pressure.” Justin says.
“Had to reverse all the way back through all that to get back to the trailhead and down to the lake. The car burned shortly after we abandoned it and got rescued by a boat that just happened to be there,” he adds.
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