Page 12 of Falling for the Hotshot

“What will you do for work, in the meantime?” A scenario by all accounts that I hadn’t wanted to consider just yet. Sure, the prospect was in the back of my mind, but I knew that I could always stay with my mom, or Don. I could lay low for a season. I had never been much of a spender, and all of my free time was spent outdoors. There weren’t many credit card machines or things to buy in nature. I had the freedom to take this year off, but the thought of doing so was giving me a serious case of FOMO. Don walked in at that very moment and answered the question for me.

“He’s going to man the dispatch lines,” Don said, putting his hands on his hips before shaking hands with Misty’s husband. “Turns out, Stephanie is ready to retire. She’s wanting to spend the rest of her days at home with her horses. She just adopted a pregnant mare, and she plans to start a YouTube channel documenting ‘baby horses’.” His use of air quotes always made me laugh because he never bent his fingers. I was pleased to find I could finally laugh without my throat hurting.

“That sounds perfect,” Misty laughed, and told Don she would see him around. She gave my hand that was resting on the railing of the bed a squeeze before she left.

“What was that about, Don?” I asked, considering Misty acted like she was saying her goodbyes.

“Misty is leaving, too.” I groaned, as Don walked over to my side and looked at my leg up and down. “You okay? Want me to call the nurse in again?” I shook my head.

“No, my leg is fine. The pain is managed. I’m just so bummed that not only am I out for the season, but you’re down another hotshot.” Don shrugged, followed by a smile.

“I got three more guys joining the crew next week. Transfers from Montana. Don’t worry, kid. We will get these fires whipped into shape. Other than the prescribed fire that you were on...” Don paused, like he couldn’t even bring himself to say that I was hurt on it. “We haven’t had any other fire activity. Yet.” As if on cue, the radio clipped to Don’s belt went off, the volume of it so high, it was ringing in my ears.

“Dispatch to Maple Haven Fire District, possible smoke sighting from Tower Three, copy.”

Chapter 14

Signs of Fire

Autumn

I awoke with a sinus pressure clogging my nose. I felt like I needed to blow it. My eyes were scratchy and watery. Like I’d fallen asleep with the fan on and windows open during pollen season. Except, we didn’t have much pollen here. Little to no pollen that I knew of in this lookout tower, and I was waking up at 8,000 feet elevation. What allergies found me up here? The air was as clear as it was going to get.

As I rubbed my eyes, not yet having heard my 5:30 a.m. old-fashioned alarm going off, I stalled, considering that I slept very well last night. I didn’t hear any overloaded washing machines with their drums out of sync. No one put a pair of tennis shoes into a dryer and treated me to the rhythmic banging of them for fifty-five minutes on high heat. Instead of the overwhelming scent of fabric softeners, I experienced a small stream of fresh air, courtesy of the tiny window on the east of the building that I left cracked open. Then, I smelled it.

I jumped out of bed. Or at least fumbled with the sleeping bag zipper that somehow got tangled up in my pillow case and long, fiery hair. But once I was freed, a few less strands on my head, I jumped up. The sun was just rising over the mountainous region. The sun was bright red. A sailors' warning, I thought, an old wives tale or… Fire. There was fire. A haze was over the hills. Shadows everywhere the sun hadn’t kissed with its presence yet. I didn’t see smoke, I didn’t see flames, but I knew it. It was near.

“Tower Three to dispatch, over,” I said, a shakiness to my voice. It wasn’t even six in the morning yet, and I felt like I might be too late. Or too early. While my mind was playing devil's advocate, I waited for an answer.

“Tower Three, go ahead.” Stephanie’s voice sounded sleepy. I hoped I hadn’t woken her.

“There is significant haze across the region this morning.” My eyes darted from peak to peak, still looking for fire.

“Any visible signs of smoke or fire?” she asked. I stalled for a moment, not finding any.

“Not that I’m—” I gasped. “Yes. Yes! Just west, there is a small billow of smoke rising.” I was so proud of myself for finding that little spot, that I forgot the questions that would come next.

“Can you provide the location of the smoke? Over.” Using the fire finder tool, as Kerry had taught me, I gave her the details. “What color is the smoke?” In this light, it looked gray. But in the full light from the morning sun, it might have been different.

“Grayish. Over.” There was a long pause where I didn’t hear anything. Finally, Stephanie returned, with an adrenaline to her voice. It was also pumping through my veins like I had just run a marathon.

“Tower Three, continue monitoring for size changes. The fire crews have been notified. Over.”

The morning had started off with so much excitement that it was almost nine in the morning before I had tiptoed down to shower. After my regular morning check-in report. After I had made a pot of coffee on the propane percolator. After I had drank three cups of said coffee, filled with two heaping spoonfuls of sugar in each one. I felt wired. Taking the stairs two by two, I was down in no time. I had to be fast, in case there was more activity with the smoke. In case someone needed me for a question, or another check-in. My mind was so full, that by the time I made it down the stairs, I showered, washed my hair, and made it back up the stairs before I ever even considered the heights I was in. Before I let my mind calculate the exact footage that I was in the air. The equation of how dead I would be if I somehow fell off the tower, which, thanks to the railing on all sides, would have to be pretty deliberate and not accidental. I had nothing to worry about up here, except for the task at hand.

As the day went on, the winds shifted. The skies cleared from their haze. The smell dissipated. Later in the afternoon, clouds started to form around me.

“Dispatch, this is Tower Three.” I was hoping Stephanie was still there. To my excitement, she was.

“Tower Three, this is dispatch, go ahead.”

“Did they find the blaze?” I asked.

“Blaze? Sorry, can you repeat? There was a little radio interference. Blaze is okay.”

“So, there was a fire, then? Over.” I waited for her reply.

“Yes. Nothing large, just a small fire, a few feet in perimeter, that had just started. I thought you meant— never mind. They got it out. They think it was caused by some dry lightning. As we haven’t had a drop of rain to that region in far too long.” I smiled into the radio, though she didn’t know this.