Oregon Road Fire survivor recounts harrowing escape

Justin Knutsen and his family had mere minutes to escape their home in Elk, Washington, as the Oregon Road Fire bore down on them.

"We need to get out of here now," Knutsen recalled, while sharing his experience with UW Medicine from his hospital bed at Harborview Medical Center.

It was Friday, Aug. 18, and Knutsen had just packed up his wife and infant daughter when a sheriff's deputy warned that the wildfire, north of Spokane, had changed direction — it was headed straight for them.

But there were others Knutsen had to warn first. He sent his family to safety in a separate vehicle and took off in his truck to find a friend and his mother. As we was driving back, however, he ran into a think wall of thick black smoke.

"I probably made it 45 seconds past that black smoke, and my truck shut off," Knutsen said.

Nothing worked. It was dead. He then only had one option — he had to run.

He did his best to cover his face with his shirt while he was surrounded by heavy smoke and extreme heat. He could barely open his eyes as he ran.

Knutsen screamed as he ran, and suddenly, he heard a faint honking — "'beep beep.' And then, a second later, 'beep beep.' And then, a second later, 'beep beep.'"

Soon, he saw the headlights.

"At this point, I was watching my skin drip off, like, like, drip off," Knutsen said. "My skin was melting."

He found the woman in the car and hopped in with her, telling her, "I love you. I love you. I love you."

"I mean, that woman saved me," Knutsen said. "If it weren't for her, I'm pretty sure another five seconds and I would've been gone."

It was a life-saving and life-changing moment.

"You know, there's really a different mental clarity when you get to kind of stare death in the face," he said. "I'm really grateful. I'm excited to be here, honestly. I'm excited for the second chance. I'm excited to go home and see my kids, finally."

Knutsen will be a part of his home's second chance, too. He owns a construction company and said he's looking forward to helping his community rebuild.

For now, Knutsen is recovering from burns to about 30% of his body.

The Oregon Road Fire was 83% contained as of Thursday.

It has consumed nearly 11,000 acres and has been linked to at least one death since it started on Aug. 18, the day of Knutsen's terrifying escape and near-death experience.