“What’s the worst that could possibly happen?” It seems an innocent enough question. And the answer is usually “My project car breaks down” or “We end our camping trip early.” But for one backcountry explorer, the answer was a 1,500 acre wildfire.

Our story starts when Jalopnik writer Andrew P. Collins asked, “What’s your scariest driving story?” The comments rolled in. They ranged from terrifying hitch-hiking encounters to fog so thick motorists were forced to creep along at 5 mph. Andrew himself joked about leaving for a long roadtrip and realizing the only CD in the vehicle was the Cee Lo Green Christmas album. But one commenter left a story that shook everyone.

A user named “High Road” said, “I’d have to say the time my truck caught fire and started a 1500 acre wildfire.” They then posted a photograph of a newspaper clipping that appeared to confirm the tale.

The names on the news story were redacted. It showed an old pickup truck, its doors opened, and its body scorched. The truck is parked in a burnt-out patch of forest. The caption reads “The fire started when ______ truck caught fire.”

Naturally, other commenters were wildly curious for details. User Maxaxle asked, “Why was it on fire to begin with?” High Road explained, “The gas tank had a pinhole leak and the truck backfired going down hill in low gear. The under carriage was engulfed in seconds, and it just spread from there.”

In the midst of all the terrifying stories various commenters contributed, a user named “DarklordCaterpie” simply told High Road, “You win.”

Only some of the article is visible but it does offer a bit more information. It continued, “…cause of the blaze. ‘The wind was blowing just right to spread,’ _____ said. ‘Within five or ten minutes it was a monster.’ _____said _____ ran to a nearby house and called the fire department.”

In total, 33 fire fighters and nearly 50 other volunteers arrived to fight the flames. But the wildfire had spread too far and soon engulfed the forest.

I’m sure High Road regretted the incident immensely. Years later, they are still thinking of it as their scariest ever driving incident. But the rest of us might be tempted to ignore a “little” issue with a project vehicle, such as a pinhole gas tank leak. This is a good lesson: the “worst that can possibly happen” is much worse than just braking down and coasting to a stop, it can involve hurting others and regretting your actions forever.