It would have been far easier to just walk the 20 miles (maybe half a day... being generous) back to the nearest civilized area. Especially since the area around there runs an average high of 82F during its hottest months. And we aren't even talking about the fact that you can just walk at night.
If anything of this story is actually true it might make sense to put yourself in his shoes. You broke down trying to sneak around a military outpost. What are you going to tell people when they find your car or you go get help to recover it? You are only 20 miles out so just throwing a match on it draws a little too much attention to yourself and you have 12 days of water and supplies. The way I figure it, you have at least 11 days to destroy the evidence and any fun you can have in the process is a bonus.
If anything of this story is actually true it might make sense to put yourself in his shoes. You broke down trying to sneak around a military outpost. What are you going to tell people when they find your car or you go get help to recover it? You are only 20 miles out so just throwing a match on it draws a little too much attention to yourself and you have 12 days of water and supplies. The way I figure it, you have at least 11 days to destroy the evidence and any fun you can have in the process is a bonus.