Your Chance To Live: Forest Fire (1973)

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] la [Music] it has not rained for a month a seemingly endless string of cloudless days has left the land baked and thirsty creeks and streams that rushed with fresh water have been reduced to little more than a trickle the late Summer Sun Beat steadily down on a secluded Mountain Valley on their way to their favorite Campground only a few miles along the trail Charles Morgan and his son Scott walk slowly through this quiet Mountain Glade they have planned this hiking trip all summer but they will never reach their destination severe fire weather conditions will again Prevail today in the mountain areas of the county as higher temperatures accompanied by dry winds and low humidity continue to raise the fire danger if you were traveling or camping in the area Dad [Music] look fire a friend to man more often than not but not now now a deadly [Music] enemy fire was perhaps Man's first tool it cooked his food its warmth kept him alive in Winter it shaped his tools for hunting and later it fueled his Industries and built his cities civilization could not have happened Without fire controlled [Music] fire [Music] but fire out of control fire in the forest is man's deadly enemy it can start dramatically with a sudden stroke of lightning but it rarely does sometimes it's arson other times a casually discarded match or cigarette a camp fire not fully extinguished any one of these catalysts combined with air for combustion a large amount of fuel such as dead branches or pine needles all dry from lack of moisture can turn the possibility of fire into a blazing deadly reality a blazing deadly reality that at its worst can shoot Flames 150 ft into the air at their hottest centers tornado likee firew whs can spew flashes as high as 600 ft a blazing deadly reality that when wind whipped can travel 30 m an hour the Morgans are in trouble they know the decision they make must be quick and right their lives depend on it without Panic they consolidate the equipment they think they will need keeping only the essentials this includes water long sleeve jacket first aid kit a map and compass fortunately the Morgans are prepared and knowledgeable about forest fire they know that fires usually spread uphill and down wind after finding their exact location on the map they have decided to travel downhill to a nearby Road this route is fairly open it has the shortest distance to travel to safety and they can also observe the progression of the fire the simple fact is that a forest fire cannot be outrun it must be out [Music] wited several miles from the Morgans professional fire troops battled The Blaze on its Outer [Music] [Applause] [Music] Perimeter [Music] [Applause] [Music] they clear a fire break and to keep the fire from jumping it set backfires this hopefully will make the fire in the forest turned cannibal feed upon itself and die [Music] at the outer edge of the fire men take advantage of smaller flames and less intense heat to literally confront the fire in hand-to-hand [Music] combat [Music] a [Music] but there are still places where no man can approach The Blaze because of the intense [Music] [Music] Heat meanwhile the Morgans continue to move toward safety while Scott refills the canteen his father rechecks his location and to his horror learns that they have been heading off course into the jaws of the fire quickly they correct their heading despite being stopped in isolated places the fire has continued to spread residents of nearby Cedar Canyon directly in the path of the Flames are being evacuated but homes in the crystal Haven subdivision are engulfed in [Music] flames and in Canyon City firemen on the scene for several hours report that the fire is still out of control while the Wildfire still rages in some places in others it has done its damage where once vacation homes and Mountain Retreats were filled with sounds of act Ive families only Echo remain where once 100t trees sigh in the summer air Only Yesterday now all that is left are wisps of smoke ashes and charred [Music] stumps [Music] a [Music] for the Morgans the struggle for survival continues [Applause] [Music] boy we glad to see you yeah man we'll find a Bas Camp just around the B thanks a [Music] lot [Music] for the Morgans the ordeal is over only now that Charles Morgan has reached safety will he permit himself to imagine the nightmare that could have been if he had made a wrong [Music] [Music] decision looking back the considered themselves lucky to be alive but obviously it was more than [Music] luck [Music] oh