“It’s broken the lines… there… and there…” I pointed toward the eastern ridge. “Take us up higher; we’ll follow it north,” I shouted to Frank over the noise of the blades and the engine. “I need to see how far that blaze extends…” I gestured with the map in my hand.

We’d flown around behind the fire to see the charnel path of blackened destruction it had left behind. In the cold, the earth steamed, even in places where the fire had long since burned itself out. The wind continued to drive the fire eastward; in following behind it, we stayed clear of the billowing clouds of suffocating smoke. From the sky, I could see the fire’s trail. I prayed to god I’d also be able to get a sense of its intent, a forecast of its destination…

“It’s moving on nothing but surface fuels and wind,” Frank shouted. “The nearest canopies are a hundred miles off.”

“And the elevations are increasing fast,” I answered. “So is the fucking wind.” I stuffed the maps into a jacket pocket and leaned forward. “It’s already escaped the control lines… it never should have made it anywhere near this far… What’s the word from Helitack?”

“As long as the winds are high, we can’t use the air tankers to drop the retardants,” he shouted back. “There’s still one lake over that ridge that’s not totally frozen over. We might get some use out of it, but I think this whole thing could die a natural death before we even have to worry about that.”

But the pattern I was seeing told a different story. The wind had carried embers along with it, creating half a dozen new spot fires far beyond the barriers we’d made. As the elevation increased, low grassland turned into dry shrubs; ladder fuels that could help a fire reach the forest canopy. And there was one particular blaze that was burning hotter and brighter than the others, heading for the most indefensible space of all…

“Take us back,” I shouted.

“So drop a crew for an underburn,” Randy said easily. “Not that I think your instincts are right. I think Cap was right. This bitch is gonna just burn herself out. She’s getting tired, Jace. Like the rest of us.” He grinned, lopsided. “I think you’re giving this one too much credit.”

“I saw it, Randy, I felt it,” I answered over a mouthful of stew. “It’s a different perspective from the air. You can see how hot it’s burning. I agree that most of the spot fires don’t pose a real threat… not where they’re located, at least right now.” I tossed my empty plate down on the thick bed of dry needles next to the log where we were seated. “Most of what’s left can be handled with cold trailing,” I said, referring to the tedious and exhausting work of going over the carcass of a dead fire by hand, putting out any live spots that remained. “But there’s one goddamn finger that’s headed north. If the wind keeps up, it could carry embers right to the neck of this gorge,” I pointed to the map. “It’s fucking indefensible,” I said, feeling the stew heavy in my stomach. “The winds will seem slow down here, compared to how they’ll fly through those steep walls. We can’t underburn that area, the risk is too fucking high we’ll set off the canopy and lose control completely.” I shifted my legs and reached for my gear.

“So we go in and clear by hand,” Randy said, “sweat and muscle.” He sighed heavily, dragging himself upright beside me. “You’re sure about this…?”

“More sure than I want to be,” I answered. “If this doesn’t stop it, we’ll have to go old-school bucket brigade.” I smiled and thumped his shoulder with mine. “And I’d rather have an axe in my hands any day.”

The helicopters left us in the drop zone, the only area that was clear. The ground was charred and still steaming. We had to hike in the rest of the way, every man loaded with twice what he would normally carry. We needed to be prepared for anything. I’d seen blazes smaller than this that had blown up, flames spinning from ten feet to a hundred in less than a minute…

“Go ahead,” I called out, “I’ll catch up.”

Randy hiked his pack up on his back and grinned. “Have Ems tell Connie to wear a pink dress for the wedding,” he said. “And that I couldn’t be happier. It’s about fucking time you made an honest woman out of my only little sister,” he added. “Especially after what I walked in on.” He turned to follow the others, but not until he’d landed a thumping punch to my arm. “Yes, sir…” he mumbled as he took off, “kids with a sitter and the wife all pretty in pink. That’ll get a man home fucking fast…”

I punched the numbers in and listened while it rang. I could tell the connection wasn’t strong, but my heart leapt anyway when I heard her voice…

“You’ve reached the home of the future Mr. and Mrs. Stokes,” I heard her voice say. “Please leave us a message and we’ll get back to you…”

“I love you, Ember,” I said fast, knowing the connection wouldn’t last. “Goddamn, I wish I’d gotten to talk to you instead of having to leave a message. Randy and I are on the ground; you and I are only a mountain range apart. All I want is to get back home and marry you…

“Fall asleep tonight knowing you’re the love of my life, Ember. Randy says for Connie to wear pink… but I want you all in white silk, babygirl…” I said, looking around at the black, broken and smoldering landscape that surrounded me…

“The fresh, pure color of winter snow…”