A video published to YouTube on Tuesday is going viral. Recorded from the passenger’s perspective, the video documents the escape from the Gatlinburg wildfires for two men and a dog in a Dodge Ram truck.
WARNING: Video contains explicit language.
The video was shot by Michael Luciano, who left his cabin early this week as fires begin to burn Chalet Village in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
According to Luciano, there was no warning on the news that the fires were approaching.
As Luciano and his driver travel down the mountain, they have to avoid fallen trees and power lines while cabins burn on the side of the road around them. A couple of times they had to turn around, all the while concerned that the heat would begin to melt the tires if they sat around too long.
Visibility was a concern too due to the smoke, but in the end they were able to make it to the bottom of the mountain safely.
At one point Luciano exits the truck and begins cursing at another driver who had stopped on the road. Luciano explains on his Facebook page that the driver turned out to be an elderly person who was concerned with the visibility, and so instead he got behind the Ram truck and used the taillights to follow Luciano down the mountain.
While the fire burned most of the cabins in Chalet Village, Luciano has been informed that his home is OK:
As of Friday, the Gatlinburg fires have claimed the lives of seven people.
H/T Jalopnik
