Dick Fellows slouched despondently on his stool. “I knew it. Not even enough to moisten the ground. And God knows what that lightning started. A couple of good bolts hit trees; I could hear it.”
Sandy scanned the woods to the horizon on all sides. “I don’t see anything to worry about. No fire, no smoke.”
“It’s not that simple,” the ranger told him. “A fire may be burning for days before it’s even detected, particularly in stands of conifers—pines, spruce, et cetera—where the duff is thick. For example, suppose one of those lightning bolts struck a snag—a dead tree—all dry and punky like those sticks the kids light fireworks with. Maybe there’s a single spark smoldering deep down in the trunk, below the surface. Maybe it’s as big around as a pea today; tomorrow it may be the size of a penny. It’s got plenty of time—and lots of fuel. Slowly it will spread, eating up through the duff until it reaches the surface. Now, it’s really ready to go, once it hits the open air and has all that lovely litter on the forest floor to feed on. If we’re lucky, we’ll spot it now because of the smoke.” He stared out grimly across the trees. “With everything so dry, we’d have to be real lucky to control it before it blazes up in the brush and crowns.”
“Crowns?” Jerry said doubtfully.
“Burns through the top of the trees,” Quiz explained, “in the foliage.”
“That’s real trouble,” the ranger said. He turned to Russ Steele. “Gee, sir, I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you out today. I’m going to have to stay rooted up here for the next twenty-four hours.”
“Don’t apologize,” Russ said. “First things first. A forest fire at this time could really complicate my problem.”
“Hey!” Sandy exclaimed. “What would happen if that missing A-bomb was smack in the middle of a raging forest fire?”
Russ Steele looked vaguely troubled. “I don’t know for sure. Probably nothing. It would depend on a great many factors. I’m not anxious to find out, I can tell you.”
The drone of a plane motor suddenly drew their attention to the east window. “It’s a helicopter!” Quiz said excitedly.