Escape Through the Blaze: Follow the Bobcat
1/15/202653 min
A lost hunter inadvertently sets in motion a terrifying chain of events. As his signal fire gets out of control it becomes a massive, uncontainable wildfire. Within minutes, the blaze is rampaging west - towards the hills outside San Diego… towards the houses nestled among the slopes… like the one where Sandra Younger lives with her husband. Can they make it out in time?
A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.
Written by Joe Viner | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound supervisor: Tom Pi...
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJohn Hopkins· Host0:03
It's October the 25th, 2003. Deep in the sun-parched wilderness of Southern California, a man carrying hunting gear stumbles through the brush. [footsteps] He is tired, thirsty, and hopelessly lost. His eyes rake the arid terrain, searching for shade or a footpath. But all he can see is more of the same: steep, straw-colored hillsides thick with brittle vegetation, tumbling down into sandy arroyos, dry creek beds that snake off into the distance, leading nowhere. The man staggers weakly on.
Sandra Younger· Guest0:44
He had never been hunting before, and he got lost. He got separated from his partner, and he was running out of water. It was a really warm day.
John Hopkins· Host1:00
Heat distorts the horizon behind shimmering waves. Strong easterly winds funnel through the valley, blowing dust into the man's eyes and veiling the air in a sepia haze. This is a hot, dry, sinister wind. It rollicks over the brush-covered landscape, swirling and howling like a banshee, itching the man's sunburned skin.