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A man who stopped his car with a flat tire near San Rafael in 1936 ran across what he thought was a piece of scrap metal, about 5 by 8 inches, covered in curious writing.

He headed from the Palisades fire to Eaton Canyon around 6:45 p.m. after being briefly stranded on the ember-filled Pacific Coast Highway due to a flat tire from a fallen utility pole.

Not sure exactly when, but Robinson was noted for helping a troubled driver on the freeway fix a flat tire.

In Danville, Ky., we once bought rain boots while waiting for a flat tire to be fixed.

That fire started on National Park Service land after a driver’s trailer had a flat tire, causing a rim to scrape the road and shoot sparks into tinder-dry brush.