Two friends make dramatic escape from Californian wildfire as wall of flames surround them

Two men have come within a hair’s breadth of being burned alive in the Californian wildfires.

The pair managed to film their dramatic escape from their house in Yuba County with the landscape blazing orange around them.

They successfully fled flames that seemed likely to add them to the current toll of 40 dead.

The terrifying video was posted to Facebook by Michael Vien, who engages in a harrowing dialogue with a friend.

Mr Vien takes in the scene around as he jumps into the car driven by his mate.

"Oh my god, dude," he says.

"Open the gate, open the gate."

"I can't breathe," says Mr Vien as as he jumps out.

"The noise is ferocious, sparks are flying everywhere and it seems flames are coming at them from 360 degrees."

"We're going to f------ die, we gotta get out of here," screams Mr Vien.

He gets back into the car and says: "I can't breathe, dude."

"We'll be alright, we got this," says the friend as he speeds the car towards where he hopes the road is.

The rest of the conversation is held at a near panic level:

"We shouldn't be driving, I can't see."

"No way of going back."

"Can't see anything. Can't see the road."

"My eyes are burning."

"My eyes are burning too."

"We got oxygen, we're not going to die yet."

"I can't go out there again."

"My hands are burning."

"We're out."

Some 5700 homes have been lost to date in the fires. The death toll could climb as searchers dig through the ruins for people listed as missing." Hundreds were unaccounted for, though authorities said many of them are probably safe but haven't let anyone know.