Stay calm

May 18, 2022 2:22 PM

Harrowing, yet interesting, video shot from a car while a brush fire came towards the road they were traveling on.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (11 comments total)

Interesting because FIRE, but not as dangerous as forest fire with trees and burning limbs potentially falling and exploding.

Was great to see someone being calm during all these.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:23 PM on May 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

I'm sure I'd be freaked in that situation, but considering what passes for prescribed burning firebreaks around here (4 foot wide swath cleared of vegetation in forests, 3 foot wide swath in fields, or a 6 foot wide trail), the rational part of my brain would be telling myself the road is a good firebreak. I'm not sure how convinced the rest of my brain would be about that, though.
posted by mollweide at 3:02 PM on May 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Oh, I have video VERY similar to this. Was driving back from Seattle to Spokane across central WA several years ago and a brush fire was burning across the highway right as we got there. We pulled over and I took some video while we waited wondering what to do. After about 5 minutes with the fire getting ever more "interesting", some official looking pickup came by and shouted "follow me" at us and led us INTO the fire to a turnaround point where we could cross over to the other side of the highway and head backward and take a detour.

Brush fires are, yes, interesting. But not as scary as other fires.
posted by hippybear at 3:02 PM on May 18, 2022 [3 favorites]

The way she keeps calm and gives her mother the correct advice is impressive, not everyone is able to do that.

I’ve driven roads through brush fires a few times but never have I seen them coming like that, fascinating video.
posted by lepus at 3:35 PM on May 18, 2022 [4 favorites]

This is the year I selected for our “Grand Tour of the West” (auto tour of NM, CO & UT) . We will be staying at a historic hotel in Las Vegas, NM right after Independence Day.

Here’s hoping that Las Vegas is in good shape and we don’t have any incidents like this along the way.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 3:39 PM on May 18, 2022

Yikes! Moms can deal with anything.
posted by Bee'sWing at 3:52 PM on May 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Watching the fire approach I couldn't decide if I wanted to be sitting on top of a gas tank or exposing myself to the outside environment. All in all I think I agree that sitting on top of a gas tank was the safer option.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:57 PM on May 18, 2022

Why was traffic stopped?
posted by eviemath at 6:19 PM on May 18, 2022

Why was traffic stopped?

The OP responded in another video that the firefighters thought the fire was contained, and had blocked/closed the road to keep people out of where the fire was. When they realized the fire wasn't contained and was advancing toward the stopped drivers, they reopened the road.
posted by yuwtze at 6:34 PM on May 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

If I were you, I would not come through New Mexico this summer. Change your plans now. Absolutely everything is closed starting tomorrow because the absolute fire danger is so high that driving a car into public lands on a road is considered a fire hazard. The fire has been about 20 minutes from Taos plaza for a minute and nearly every community around Las Vegas is already evacuated or in Ready status. Hotels are full from people whose homes have burned. The fires are so large they’re creating their own weather systems complete with fire lightening. The entire state is a tinder box and new devastating fires are starting everywhere basically every day. The hospitals are full because they’ve had to evacuate two hospitals already and covid cases are rising 90% every couple of days because of the number of people in massively communal living situations right now. It’s hard to overstate the enormous size of the disaster happening right now. But anything you were hoping to see is either already burned and gone or completely closed. That situation is not expected to change. It’s an incredibly poor under resourced state and this early fire season is stretching things to breaking. The Pueblos and tribes are begging people to stay away. Please do not come be a disaster tourist. Believe me, that’s all you will find in Las Vegas.
posted by Bottlecap at 11:32 PM on May 18, 2022 [16 favorites]

I have some incoherent feelings about this because I'm so concerned about climate change as Australia goes into an election. That's not what I would consider a big fire, but watching it move so quickly towards you is unnerving, and rightly so. The person making the video and the person driving did good to stay calm in a stressful situation.

Please do get and stay informed about the kinds of fires that are likely to happen where you live or travel, and what your options are to escape them. If the time comes, you won't have long to make decisions.
posted by harriet vane at 6:29 AM on May 19, 2022