A firefighter carries a water hose to put out a fire during along the Highway 29 near Calistoga, California. Photo / AP
Terrifying footage shows two men defy death as they crossed through the hellish Cascade wildfire raging in California.
Mike Vien and his roommate had minutes to escape the fire that rushed towards their home in Loma Rica.
The night was lit in a toxic orange glow and their main escape route was blocked by the fast-approaching fire, according to Daily Mail.
"We're going to f*****g die dude, we gotta get out of here," Mike exclaimed as the wind drove burning embers down mercilessly on top of them.
He caught their harrowing escape on camera as they battled though the blaze and narrowly avoided death.
As the fire devoured oxygen from the air, Mike jumped out of their vehicle to open a gate guarding a smoke-obscured road in the terrifying footage.
"I can't breath," he said as the wind hurled millions of burning embers all around him.
"We're going to f*****g die dude, we gotta get out of here," Mike shouted as burning sparks attacked his face and he struggled to get back into the car.
He gasped for air as he finally forced his way back into the vehicle.
"You'll be all right, we've got this," his roommate, who was driving said encouragingly.
They drove through a fire-eaten landscape as skeletal trees were consumed by the hungry flames and burning debris rained down on the vehicle.
"My eyes are burning man but we've still got oxygen," they said as they drove through the fire-ravaged neighbourhood.
"The road's on fire and s**t," they said as they followed the barely visible power lines above to find a path out.
Suddenly they passed into a smoke-heavy darkness and away from the angry flames.
"We're ok, we're ok," they said as they paused momentarily before continuing their drive away to safety.
The Cascade fire has burned more than 12,000 acres and their home has been completely destroyed.
They had to leave everything behind because the fire moved so quickly that they barely had time to grab their two dogs and escape with their lives.
A fundraising campaign has been set up to help them rebuild their lives.
In an interview with CBS13, Mike described the situation as the scariest three minutes of his life.
He only knew something was wrong when the lights in their Loma Rica home started fluttering on Sunday night.
They went outside and smelled smoke and then saw the sky light up red.
They grabbed their dogs, got into their car and raced out.
The Cascade Fire began on Cascade Way and Marysville Road, north of Collins Lake early Sunday morning.
Mike said, "I did think that we weren't going to get through it for a minute."
"I'm actually surprised we got through it and happy we got through it honestly," he said.
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