(VIDEO) A KTLA reporter and his photographer had just finished their live shot for the 11 p.m. news, covering the devastating, out-of-control Erskine Fire burning in Lake Isabella, when flames came within about 30 yards of their van.
Firefighter set backfires at the end of Steve Kuzj's live shot on June 23, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)
Firefighter set backfires at the end of Steve Kuzj's live shot on June 23, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)
Reporter Steve Kuzj and cameraman Victor Vargas scrambled to get their equipment into the truck and flee, getting away safely.
Vargas said the pair noticed firefighters lighting backfires close by as Kuzj finished up his live report on the fire, which at that point was estimated at 5,000 acres and had burned about 80 homes and structures.
Live video on KTLA's air shortly after 11 p.m. showed a firefighter crew setting fire to brush and grass near the roadway at the end of Kuzj's live shot.
While Vargas and Kuzj worked to pack up the KTLA van, the heat began to hit them and they started to hurry. In less than a minute, the flames moved from 100 yards to 50 yards to 30 yards away, Vargas said.