ELK, Wash. – The Oregon Road Fire began late in the afternoon on Aug. 18 and quickly grew out of control, tearing through houses and dried out trees and terrifying speed and forcing residents to evacuate. Within hours, thousands of acres had burned and hundreds of people displaced.
The rapid spread meant many were not prepared to leave quickly, with many in dire straits as they struggled to corral livestock or move loved ones with restricted mobility. In such a scary situation, it fell to the kindness of neighbors and strangers to offer help as they were able. This was the especially true for Justin Knutsen, who both provided and received a vital helping hand when it mattered most.
It took less than 10 minutes between the time Knutsen and his wife saw the giant plume of smoke in the distance and when the first Level 3 evacuation notice chimed through on their phones.
After his family evacuated their home, Knutsen stayed behind to take care of a few loose ends at the house. Then he was informed the fire had changed directions by a deputy, and it was headed their way.
Concerned for his neighbor, who likely hadn’t heard of the sudden shift in fire behavior, he raced back to let them know, ensuring they were able to escape to safety.
As he was leaving himself, he could hear the roar of the fast-approaching blaze and feel the wave of heat. It was that heat which caused his truck engine to overheat, leaving him stranded.
“It just stopped. No brakes, no gas, nothing,” Knutsen recalled. “When it got down to 5 miles per hour, I knew I had to go. I’m not going to just sit there in my truck.”
With no other options, Knutsen pulled his short over his mouth, got out of his truck, and started running.
Unable to see through the dense smoke or hear anything above the roaring flames, Knutsen faced the real possibility of losing his life.
“I had this voice in my head. It was just telling me, ‘Why don’t you lay down in those leaves? It’ll be over in five minutes. Just stop,'” he said. “And I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? Are you out of your mind? You gave up so quickly!’
“So I just kept going.”
While the fire was still behind him, the heat was intense enough to burn. He described watching the skin of his arms and legs drip off “like water,” as he ran. But through the intense pain and the heat, Knutsen heard a faint beeping in the distance, then again growing louder. It was a car honking, and all thoughts of giving up fled his mind as he raced toward it.
A woman was also evacuating, beeping her horn as she went in case anyone needed help. It saved Knutsen’s life. As he got into the car, he repeated, “I love you, I love you, I love you!” between curses.
Laughing at the memory, Knutsen said, “I remember her looking at me, and I looked at her in the eyes, and she’s like, ‘Please stop using that language.'”
He apologized and told her, “I’m sorry, I’m just in a lot of pain, but I do love you.”
Knutsen and the good Samaritan who saved him escaped the fire, and he was taken to hospital with second-degree burns covering more than 30 percent of his body. The woman herself was treated for smoke inhalation. But they were alive.
Knutsen was doused in water and flown to Harborview Medical Center’s burn ward for treatment. He spent months recovering, with his care team allowing most of the burns to heal naturally, but his left arm did require a skin graft.
Now, he’s back in Spokane County. The Knutsens lost their home in the fire, as did several of his neighbors. Despite that and the pain of recovery, Knutsen is eager to help the community rebound.
“I’m a construction worker. I own my own construction business and so (do) a couple of my friends,” he said. “I’m just excited to get together with them and start rebuilding the whole community.”
Luckily, this is a goal his care team believes is achievable.
“As long as he’s able to do his therapy, I anticipate a full recovery to the point where he’ll be back doing exactly what he was doing in the course of a couple weeks to a month,” said Dr. Dylan Jason, a University of Washington surgeon and member of Knutsen’s care team.
Despite their losses, Knutsen is glad to back with his family. “I’m just super happy to still be here,” he said.
After his family evacuated their home as the Oregon Road Fire grew, Justin Knutsen stayed behind to help a neighbor in need. As he was leaving himself, his truck overheated, stranding him. The intense heat alone left him with 30% of his body severely burned, but luckily, a honking horn led him through the smoke and into the car of a good Samaritan who saved his life.
You can help the Knutsen family by donating to their GiveSendGo fundraiser!
