flames fast as we could, which involved dousing the grass and brush with a flame retardant so embers wouldn't have a chance to start the whole thing over again.
Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I raced toward a burning patch of shrubs. It felt good to spray them down with water and feel the heat slowly disappear. I wasn't sure what it was, but something about this job always made me feel so alive.
“Looking good, Max!” Jake gave me a wave. “You show that fire who's boss.”
I wiped the sweat off my brow and waved back. No time for jokes, though. That could come after we'd finished the job.
Then a loud cracking noise made us all jump. It was as if thunder had struck right there in the valley with us. Didn't take long to figure out what had gone wrong.
Somehow, the flames had leaped to a dry, dead tree without us noticing it. In seconds, the whole thing had been engulfed from the bottom of the trunk all the way up to the branches.
In these dense woods, the trees were so close that the tops touched, which made it easy for the fire to continue its path of destruction. One of the branches, weakened by the heat, broke off and nearly landed on a man as it hit the ground.
“Holy shit,” Jake shouted. “This is getting out of hand fast.”
Chris called Buck and demanded he contact someone for assistance. This was turning out to be way more than a dozen redneck firemen could handle.
“We're gonna need a chopper. I'm serious! We got big problems down this way, and they're getting bigger quick.”
I shook my tank, which was running low on water. I used what I had left to douse the tree, but it did nothing to put a dent in the blaze.
“I'm out, Chris. I'll take the ATV back and get some more water.”
He nodded his approval. I hopped on an ATV and roared off down the dirt path in the way we'd come.
The path led around a ravine of sorts. Below, there was a sheer drop down a near-vertical rocky wall, ending in an empty creek bed full of sharp, jagged stones. In the rainy season, this would be full of water.
“Would've been handy to have when we actually need it,” I muttered to myself.
I noticed the fire ahead of me too late. The grass was blanketed in orange and yellow heat, and I nearly drove right into it.
“Damn it.” I spun the ATV around. “Guess I'll take that side path back there.”
Just as I did a one eighty, there was that familiar cracking noise. A dead pine had erupted into a fireball – and I knew from putting out Christmas tree fires how flammable those things could be. The fire took mere seconds to engulf the tree, and before I could react, it toppled to the ground.
I swerved to avoid it, but that was a mistake. A heavy branch came down and connected with my head. Pounding pain radiated through my skull, and for a moment the world turned white.
Everything happened so quickly. The blow to my head disoriented me so much that I lost control of the vehicle. The ATV and I flipped upside-down, throwing me over the side of the ravine. Moments later, it smashed into the rocks below and burst into flame.
I was lucky to hit a slope instead of plummeting to my doom down there. I landed on my back, knocking the breath out of me, then rolled down the hill so fast I nearly threw up. My injured head throbbed; blood trickled from the wound down my face.
I came to a stop just before tumbling over the edge again. A pointy cactus broke my fall, but I hardly noticed the pain of thorns piercing my skin.
Above, the fire roared. It had somehow just gotten ten times worse, and here I was, stuck and injured, in the middle of it.
“Gotta call for help. C'mon, Max. Don't be a sissy.”
I called Chris on the radio, but he didn't answer. Jake didn't, either. I got nothing but static.
“What's wrong with this damn thing?” I shook the radio. Something rattled inside. “Just great.”
The whir of a chopper's blades made me look up. A helicopter was coming, but I couldn't tell if it was the news crew or
Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I raced toward a burning patch of shrubs. It felt good to spray them down with water and feel the heat slowly disappear. I wasn't sure what it was, but something about this job always made me feel so alive.
“Looking good, Max!” Jake gave me a wave. “You show that fire who's boss.”
I wiped the sweat off my brow and waved back. No time for jokes, though. That could come after we'd finished the job.
Then a loud cracking noise made us all jump. It was as if thunder had struck right there in the valley with us. Didn't take long to figure out what had gone wrong.
Somehow, the flames had leaped to a dry, dead tree without us noticing it. In seconds, the whole thing had been engulfed from the bottom of the trunk all the way up to the branches.
In these dense woods, the trees were so close that the tops touched, which made it easy for the fire to continue its path of destruction. One of the branches, weakened by the heat, broke off and nearly landed on a man as it hit the ground.
“Holy shit,” Jake shouted. “This is getting out of hand fast.”
Chris called Buck and demanded he contact someone for assistance. This was turning out to be way more than a dozen redneck firemen could handle.
“We're gonna need a chopper. I'm serious! We got big problems down this way, and they're getting bigger quick.”
I shook my tank, which was running low on water. I used what I had left to douse the tree, but it did nothing to put a dent in the blaze.
“I'm out, Chris. I'll take the ATV back and get some more water.”
He nodded his approval. I hopped on an ATV and roared off down the dirt path in the way we'd come.
The path led around a ravine of sorts. Below, there was a sheer drop down a near-vertical rocky wall, ending in an empty creek bed full of sharp, jagged stones. In the rainy season, this would be full of water.
“Would've been handy to have when we actually need it,” I muttered to myself.
I noticed the fire ahead of me too late. The grass was blanketed in orange and yellow heat, and I nearly drove right into it.
“Damn it.” I spun the ATV around. “Guess I'll take that side path back there.”
Just as I did a one eighty, there was that familiar cracking noise. A dead pine had erupted into a fireball – and I knew from putting out Christmas tree fires how flammable those things could be. The fire took mere seconds to engulf the tree, and before I could react, it toppled to the ground.
I swerved to avoid it, but that was a mistake. A heavy branch came down and connected with my head. Pounding pain radiated through my skull, and for a moment the world turned white.
Everything happened so quickly. The blow to my head disoriented me so much that I lost control of the vehicle. The ATV and I flipped upside-down, throwing me over the side of the ravine. Moments later, it smashed into the rocks below and burst into flame.
I was lucky to hit a slope instead of plummeting to my doom down there. I landed on my back, knocking the breath out of me, then rolled down the hill so fast I nearly threw up. My injured head throbbed; blood trickled from the wound down my face.
I came to a stop just before tumbling over the edge again. A pointy cactus broke my fall, but I hardly noticed the pain of thorns piercing my skin.
Above, the fire roared. It had somehow just gotten ten times worse, and here I was, stuck and injured, in the middle of it.
“Gotta call for help. C'mon, Max. Don't be a sissy.”
I called Chris on the radio, but he didn't answer. Jake didn't, either. I got nothing but static.
“What's wrong with this damn thing?” I shook the radio. Something rattled inside. “Just great.”
The whir of a chopper's blades made me look up. A helicopter was coming, but I couldn't tell if it was the news crew or
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