WASHINGTON, Jan 13, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Haggard and traumatized, a young man
has told how he survived for more than three weeks in the snowy wilderness of
Alaska after his remote cabin burned down when he mistakenly put cardboard in
his stove. Tyson Steele, who was rescued by helicopter on Thursday, said his
cabin — located 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the nearest neighbour — was
incinerated in mid-December, and his beloved dog Phil died in the blaze.
Steele, 30, dug a snow cave and then built a makeshift shelter, staying
warm with just a few sleeping bags and coats, and eating tins of food saved
from the fire.
Helicopter footage released by Alaska State Troopers showed Steele waving
for help, with SOS marked out in the deep snow, after a rescue effort was
launched as he had not called his parents for three weeks.
“The mistake I made, I got hasty and I put a big piece of cardboard in the
stove to start the fire,” Steele said. “It sent a spark out through the
chimney which landed on the roof.”
He awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of melting plastic
dripping and rushed outside in minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 26 degrees
Celsius) temperatures to find his cabin ablaze.
At first, he thought his six-year-old chocolate Labrador had escaped
safely.
“My dog starts howling, right? Inside. And I thought he was not inside…
I was hysterical,” he said.
“I have no words for what sorrow; it was just a scream… that’s all I
could express — just scream. (It) felt like I tore my lung out.”
– Snowed in –
Steele described how a box full of ammunition and a propane tank exploded
in the roaring fire as he tried to save the cabin by throwing snow on it
until dawn.
Eating a long-awaited McDonald’s and still wearing some of the same
clothes, Steele gave an interview to the State Troopers unit, which described
him as appearing “vaguely reminiscent of actor Tom Hanks’ character in the
movie ‘Cast Away’.”
Steele told how his phone failed, his snow boots were lost in the flames,
and that he made a survival plan hoping that his lack of communication with
friends and family would trigger a search mission.
“I figured I had two cans a day for 30 days… The thing was, maybe half
of those cans, they’ve heated up and popped open and the smoke’s circulating
inside the can. It tastes like my home, just burning.”
Steele, who was in good physical condition after his ordeal, said it
snowed heavily and that one attempt to walk out of the forested area left him
quickly defeated.
He had been living alone at the cabin — originally built by a Vietnam War
veteran — in Susitna Valley only since September, and he did not have a map.
Steele said he was going to stay with his parents in Salt Lake City to
recover.
“They’ve got a dog,” he said. “And that would be some therapy.
“The worst part of all of this — I can survive 23 days again — but my
dog was in there, asleep by my side.”