Watch father and son drive through Glacier National Park wildfire

The American West is at the height of wildfire season, and a father and son who were camping in Glacier National Park got a close look — too close — at the park's Howe Ridge Fire when they had to drive through it in an attempt to escape it.

The video above, taken by Justin Bilton, shows their ordeal, which he titled on YouTube, "That time we drove through hell in Glacier National Park (Howe Ridge)."

Bilton said that he and his 70-year-old dad, Charlie, were on a backpacking trip across Wyoming and Montana and had set up camp near Lake McDonald. Then they realized that the fire, kindled by a lightning strike, was near them and growing rapidly. (It currently encompasses more than 7,800 acres.)

The fire began to explode nearby. Bilton wrote on Facebook: "We hiked back to the car to get out where it was parked at the end of a dead end road. We had just driven this road (safely) 3 hours before to get in, and it was our only way out, apart from trying to stay ahead of the fire on foot. ..."

So they began to run the fiery gantlet.



In the video, Charlie speaks in a steady voice.

"I think we can drive through this," Charlie says.

"Dad, what if the car blows up?" Justin asks.

"Then we're dead. Just keep driving. Not too too fast, we'll be OK," Charlie replies.

You can also hear Justin asking what would happen if a tree fell on them. Then something almost as bad happens: Their escape is thwarted by a burning tree in the road.

"We can't get out," Justin says. "Dad, we got to get out of here."

On YouTube, Justin wrote: "After we reached the downed, burning tree seen at the end of the video, I had to reverse all the way back to the trailhead, where we were lucky to flag down a boat. We were rescued by two park employees and taken to safety. The car burned in the fire."

The car was a rental.

"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!" Justin wrote.

"He's def cool under pressure."

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