I think it's smart to be prepared to light a fire but please don't burn your vehicle as a signal fire if you are ever stranded. For one thing, you risk an explosion when the fire reaches the fuel tank. For another, the car can be used as a shelter and protection from predators while you wait for rescue (just be sure to open the windows if it's hot outside). And lastly if you burn the car and no one see it then you are forced to walk away from it. You've destroyed many resources you could have used and it will look like possible foul play when the car is found. You should practice starting a regular fire with wood/whatever items are on hand as a signal fire. If you feel you MUST burn something to get more attention then remove and burn the tires only (one at a time) as they will create a thick black smoke (sorry to any environmentalists reading-- but this would be in an extreme emergency only). If you hear helicopters overhead grab something bright/colorful, try to get in a cleared area and lay on the ground; Open and close your arms and legs like you are doing jumping jacks while laying down. It makes it easier for the helicopter to see you from the air than if you are standing and waving.
If it doesn't look like rescue is coming and you must leave the vehicle, then leave a note with your car telling the direction you went to seek help. As you go be sure to leave a clear trail to mark your path. Break small branches from trees/bushes as you walk OR make an arrow in the dirt with sticks or some rocks pointing the way you went if you are on a path. Use markers in places where you have a choice between two directions-- this can be especially helpful if you are following a path that might be circular. If the path returns to your marker then you will know that you just went in a circle. Another good skill to have is to learn how to use a compass (get a small one for your key chain) and either keep track of the direction of the path as you walk or if no path is clear choose a direction you believe leads to civilization and stay on that course checking with the compass as you go. Another strategy is to follow a stream or river and hope it takes you to a main road but that is not always a helpful method-- in some locations water will end up taking you to the ocean or to a rocky, slippery waterfall. I wonder if that is what happened to Aubrey. If she tried to follow a creek out while in the mountains she might have found herself in a more precarious location than where the truck was found. That could explain why she wasn't very far from the vehicle.
JMO (I'm no survival expert but I was in the Girl Scouts
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