Man Sets Brush Fire to Attract Rescuers

A man who spent five days in a desolate area northeast of Castaic after his car became stuck was rescued Thursday when he started a brush fire to attract help, authorities said.

Thomas Hammack, 49, of Torrance, said he ate toothpaste to survive during the ordeal that began when he went for a Saturday afternoon drive in the wilderness and got stuck in Ruby Canyon.

He was about three miles from a public road where he could have gotten help from passing motorists, but did not realize it until after his rescue, he said.

After setting the five-acre brush fire at 9 a.m. Thursday, firefighters arrived and Hammack was flown by paramedics from the rugged canyon north of Lake Hughes Road to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, where he was treated for dehydration.

“The firefighters knew why I started it,” Hammack said from his hospital bed. “They walked up and asked me, ‘Did you set the fire to get help?’ and I said, ‘God, yes.’ They were very nice.”