Wildfire at Larch Creek (excerpt)
Two-Tall Tim Harada leaned over Akbar the Great’s shoulder to look out the rear door of the DC-3 airplane.
“Ugly,” he shouted over the roar of the engine and wind.
Akbar nodded rather than trying to speak.
Since ugly was their day job, it didn’t bother Tim much, but this was worse than usual. It would be their fourth smokejump in nine days on the same fire. The Cottonwood Peak Fire was being a total pain in the butt, even worse than usual for a wildfire. Every time they blocked it in one direction, the swirling winds would turnabout and drive the fire toward a new point on the compass. Typical for the Siskiyou Mountains of northern California, but still a pain.
Akbar tossed out a pair of crepe paper streamers and they watched together. The foot-wide s
