14 Moons

by C-130

From long winter nights to scorching summer days, there is always something going on at the Piston Peaks Air Attack Base. As the seasons change and the full moon rises, keep an eye out for a story that delves into the day to day life in the park. Long Night Moon...Illegal Fireworks cause a long night for several members of the Park's staff.

8. Thunder Moon

Thunder Moon

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Even from the ground it was impossible the darkening sky and the towering clouds that were blossoming on the horizon. There was only one type of cloud that billowed to form that distinctive anvil shape...a cloud screamed doom for aircraft and danger for vehicles on the ground.

Still, it was not until the primary speaker on the radio switched from the Chief to Cabbie, that Dynamite got really worried. The Chief always remained the aircraft in command when they were fighting a fire. He would only hand the airwaves over to the old Jump plane if the air space was about to go to slag in a way that required the teams most experienced air boss at the helm.

Cabbie's words started pouring out with the practiced ease as he climbed higher into the sky to get the best lay of the land possible. Occasionally his voice would cut out for a few moments as he switched radio frequencies to vector a civilian to a nearby airstrip, gave warning to boats on the lake, or forwarded information to the tower at the lodge.

"Dynamite." Cabbie's voice crackled across her personal radio frequency. "This storm is producing ground wind in excess of 50 miles per hour. Given the intensity of the storm I suggest pulling back to a defensible location. You are currently two clicks north by northwest of Rutty Springs Meadow. The wet ground there should give you an advantage in case of a burn over."

"Wilco…" Was all that Dynamite was able to get out in reply, before Cabbie's attention was pulled away to vector a commercial aircraft around the squall of thunderstorms to the south.

"Okay boys." Dynamite spoke loudly to get her team's attention and to allow her to speak over the din of the aircraft chatter that was filling the airways. "Time to break off the attack and get to a defensible location, we are about to have this fire up our tail piles."

When the other smokejumpers paused from their work and saw the state of the sky, none of them needed to be told twice. Without a word they followed Dynamite's lead through the forest, knowing that they would have to leave this fire to the whims of the storm.