July 11: The Mink fire started in Bridger-Teton National Forest from lightning and burned north following the Yellowstone River valley, after firefighters forced the fire away from private lands.
Tuesday dawned hot and bright. More Army helicopters were scattered around the tarmac at the Helibase; more volunteers. She hadn’t seen so many, in the close to ten years she had worked at Yellowstone, and it was still early in the season. They must have arrived early. Larry hadn’t taken the morning reports, when he got in. He went straight to the briefing room, to give them an orientation talk.
A grinning David walked in a few minutes later. “That was one hell of a night. I forgot a lot of those stories. You have a great memory.”
“It was the first time in my life that I had ever had fun. Before that, it was just years of abuse. Don’t you remember the best times of you life?”
“I guess so, but I grew up in a happy family, so my view of WOEC was a little different.”
“David, heat lightning started another fire last night. Can you mark this on the map, please. I’ll pass you the rest of the updates, too.”
“Sure thing.” He took the missive and turned back to the map.
Sorting the field requests for supplies and manpower from the fire updates, Katlin began to prioritize the morning missions. She’d send the crews that arrived yesterday, first. The new crews would need an hour or so downtime to familiarize themselves with the regional maps, before taking off.
Larry walked over to the counter where Katlin was working on the flight plans. “Can you do me a favor, since you disrupted my briefing?”
“How I do that?” she frowned.
“Kat, all you have to do is walk in. Anyway, sort through the index cards, assign them their missions and mark the map. I need to talk to Andy about some of the fire suppression efforts.”
“Anything else?” She asked.
“It’s 8:30, now. I’d like to have the first group in the air by 9 am and this one up by 10 am.”
She snapped Larry a salute. “Alright, gentlemen, you heard him. Line up single file in front of my counter.” She reached for the first pilot’s card.
Looking at the notations on the card, “CW4 Brown, welcome to Yellowstone, I’m assuming you can handle anything I give you?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Good. You’ll be going to H12, in Bridger-Teton National Forest. The Mink fire started last night. I haven’t been able to recon it yet. Make a few observations while you’re up there. Wind speed, direction of the fire, check out terrain in the downwind area. We may need to move the helispot and any input you have would be valuable. “
Mr. Brown gave her a wink and moved out.
“Good morning Ma’am.” A very black man with a slight accent slid his card to her.
Looking up, Katlin smiled. “Lt. Ojibwan, from north Africa?”
“Very good pronunciation, ma’am. Yes, I’m from Nigeria.”
“Well, I hope you get to enjoy some of our park while you are here. H9, sir. David will show you and Mr. Brown where to find them.”
Kat reached for the next card.
“Good morning, ma’am.” Said a soft, deep voice.
Her hand shook in mid-reach at the familiar voice. One from her dreams. The color drained from her face. A loud ringing in her ears made her dizzy. The edges of her vision turned black, as she raised her eyes to the name plate on the on the left side of his flight suit.
YOU ARE READING
Helitak Daze
Romance6/28/2012 Just a quick note, I called the real "Michael" and he is currently flying his helicopter, fighting the Colorado fires. Katlin is living her dream as a Helitak Foreman, in Yellowstone National Park, but for one thing. For two decades, she's...
