The Great Burn of 1910 was the largest forest fire in history to ever sweep across the Rocky Mountain states, destroying approximately three million acres of prime timberland.
In the wilderness area near Wallace, Idaho, a forest ranger by the name of Ed Pulaski had been given charge of forty-five volunteer firefighters. In the morning, they had gone out with shovels, axes and picks to fight back the forest fire, but during the course of the day the weather conditions changed. Strong winds blew in and supercharged the conflagration.
Ranger Pulaski saw the flames approaching. In all his experience, he had never seen a forest fire moving as fast. He understood that the fire was no respecter of persons and would destroy everything in its path. Thinking fast, he formed a plan.
He rode his horse among the men to gather them up, shouting, “If you want to live to see another day, grab your blankets and follow me!”
The men had difficulty seeing and hearing him. The roar of the approaching fire was deafening, and every second tons of smoke and ash billowed up, darkening the sky.
Ranger Pulaski led the men up a mountain trail. If he hadn’t been familiar with the trail from hiking on it many times, he surely would have lost his way. The men moved as fast as they could go. They had only minutes before the fire would catch them. An older firefighter clutched his side in pain and said he couldn’t take another step. Ranger Pulaski dismounted and helped this man onto the back of his horse. A little further on, a big black bear came running down the mountain path in a panic before he disappeared out of sight.
Right before the fire reached them, Ranger Pulaski found what he was looking for — an abandoned mining tunnel. The men quickly filed in. They found the tunnel was barely long enough for all of them to fit. A small stream of water ran along the floor of the tunnel.
“Wet your blankets and lay down under them,” Pulaski ordered.
One man took measure of the tunnel and thought it was a death trap for sure. “I am not dying in here! I’m making a run for it,” he told Pulaski.
Ranger Pulaski pulled a revolver from its holster. “I’ll shoot any man that tries to leave the cave!” he shouted, and the men knew he meant it.
Ranger Pulaski soaked his own blanket and then tied it like a curtain over the mouth of the tunnel. Then the fire engulfed the trees around the mouth of the tunnel. The noise of the flames was like the roaring of a freight train. The blanket covering the mouth of the tunnel went up in flames. Then the timbers at the entrance, that kept the roof of the tunnel from collapsing, started to smoke and burn. Trying to stay as low as possible to avoid the searing heat, Pulaski gathered up water from the shallow stream into his hat and tossed it on the beams of wood to prevent them from burning. Smoke, heat and poisonous gases started to fill the tunnel. The men pressed their nostrils as close to the ground as possible to find air to breathe. Pulaski threw a last hat-full of water on the beams of wood, and then, overcome by smoke and heat, he collapsed in unconsciousness to the floor of the tunnel.
The tunnel was a hiding place, but would it be enough of a refuge to keep the men safe in the giant firestorm? Before I tell you the rest of the story, may I ask you a question? Have you found a place of refuge from the judgment that is certain to overtake souls because of their sins? It is important that you do this, because each one of us has sinned. We only receive the partial reward of our actions while here on earth, but we will receive the full payment for our deeds in the life to come. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). In this judgment, souls who have never repented of their sins and turned to the Lord Jesus will spend eternity where the “worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:4848Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:48)). That this judgment catches up to those who remain in their sins is an absolute certainty! It can’t be outrun or dodged. God will see to it that all sin gets its due. The Bible says, “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:2929For our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29)). Don’t trifle with the sin He hates; forsake it and “flee from the wrath to come” (Luke 3:77Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Luke 3:7)).
It would have been folly for the men in the forest fire not to flee, and likewise, it is a terrible folly for any member of the human race not to flee from the wrath to come. This is because God in His grace has made a hiding place for sinners. This refuge is a Man. Isaiah 32:22And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. (Isaiah 32:2) reads, “A Man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”
That Man who is the hiding place is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners. He is the perfect hiding place for sinners because of who He is and what He did. You see, He wasn’t only a man; He was also God. As Man, He could be born in a manger, live a sinless life, give His life on Calvary’s cross, be buried, rise again, and ascend up to heaven. As God, His death has an infinite value to wash away our sins. His work on the cross can put away the sins of all who believe on Him. “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-3938Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38‑39)). Won’t you fall on your knees before Him and by faith ask Him to save your never-dying soul?
It was about two o’clock in the afternoon when the firefighters led by Ranger Pulaski entered the tunnel. The next morning at dawn, some of the men picked themselves off the floor of the cave and wandered out into the ashes and charred remains of the forest. One of them asked, “Where is Pulaski?”
Another responded, “I saw him dead by the mouth of the cave.”
But he wasn’t dead. He overheard this comment, and it roused him out of his stupor. He propped himself up on an elbow and called out, “I am not dead. I am right here, but I can’t see a thing.”
When the men went back to help him, they found that he had indeed gone blind from the heat and smoke getting into his eyes.
Five of the forty-five men who entered the tunnel had died. The forty who were left alive knew that they owed their lives to the courage and leadership of Ranger Pulaski. Thankfully, after a month of medical treatments, Ed Pulaski’s eyesight returned.
Ed Pulaski had urgently told his men, “If you want to live to see another day, follow me!” With even greater urgency we give you the message, “If you want to live to see heaven, glory, and have eternal life, then you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished on the cross of Calvary!” Will you believe on Him before the fire of God’s judgment overtakes you? Find out more about Christ’s sacrificial love in He Couldn’t Save Himself.