INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A man who spent 23 days in sub-freezing temperatures after his cabin burned down in Alaska has been rescued.Tyson Steele, 30, said the fire
in the remote home had started after he mistakenly put cardboard in his wood stove to help light it.But it sent a spark through the chimney
that landed on the roof and then the whole of the top part caught fire.Image:Tyson Steele was rescued after more than 20 days in
below-freezing temperatures
Pic: Alaska State TroopersHe grabbed some blankets, a few coats and some sleeping bags before fleeing his cabin which was engulfed by
flames.Mr Steele was also able to scavenge some canned food and jars of peanut butter that had not yet been destroyed.He said: "I stepped
outside and everything's on fire."Mr Steele hoped his beloved pet labrador had followed him outside, but the dog did not.He said: "I have no
words for what sorrow it was just, just a scream
Just a visceral - not angry, not sad - just all I could express, just scream."[It] felt like I tore my lung out."It was mid-December in a
remote area of the Susitna Valley
His phone did not work, his nearest neighbour was 20 miles away and the only way in and out of the wilderness was by air.The man was rescued
after state troopers responded to a request from a friend for a "welfare check" on Mr Steele after he had not been heard from for several
weeks.Mr Steele had stamped a giant "SOS" in the snow using ash and a video showed him next to it frantically waving to rescuers.He said
that for the first two nights after his cabin was destroyed he slept inside a snow cave he built.Once the flames went out, he built a
tent-like structure over what remained of his cabin.Mr Steele said he spent a lot of time sleeping and tried not to go outside, where at one
point the snow had reached 5ft high.As the days went by, he said he began wondering when his family and friends would get worried and send
help.That assistance arrived last Thursday and troopers said he "appeared healthy" after being stranded for 23 days.Mr Steele said he plans
to go to Salt Lake City where his family lives
And that would be some therapy," he said.
