Macauley handed the boy his flashlight. “Here, better take this so you don’t stumble in the dark. And make it snappy.”
Jerry had already returned with a report from the south line when Sandy stumbled into the bright lights of the clearing. Jerry was sprawled out on the grass at the command post while the ranger phoned his information into headquarters. Sandy interrupted Dick Fellows excitedly to announce the unexpected wind shift. And Dick was even more excited as he told Paul Landers about it.
Jerry shook his head skeptically as Sandy plopped down beside him on the grass. “I don’t think that fire is going to change direction. You should see it down near the middle of the south line. It’s so close now that they can see to work by it.”
Sandy shrugged. “Won’t be able to tell for sure for a while. But that wind is definitely swinging around and picking up velocity—by the way, where’s Quiz?”
Jerry jerked his thumb back across his shoulder. “He’s back down the line jawing away with some of the gang bosses. By the time this is over, he’ll be an expert fire fighter.”
Sandy laughed. “Shakespeare to smoke-eating—that’s our boy. The expert’s expert.”
Dick put the walkie-talkie down and turned to the boys. “Our aerial observer reports a definite wind shift to the southwest. It’s still too early to notice any effect on the head of the fire, but it’s an important development.” He gazed skyward. “Just keep your fingers crossed that it doesn’t really blow up. She’d probably crown again and that could mean spot fires almost anywhere.”
“What are spot fires? You mentioned them before, but you never did explain what they are.”
“In a stiff wind, great masses of flaming embers and foliage may be carried through the air for miles and start other fires far ahead of the original one. That’s where the real danger exists for fire fighters. Lots of times in a bad crown fire, men have suddenly found themselves completely surrounded by flames.”
Sandy shuddered. “That’s horrible.”