Photo by John Markalunas.
When I worked as a forest firefighter on the Pike Hotshot Crew, we lit backfires to stop the main fire in its tracks. We often did these “burnouts” during night shifts because the cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity lowered the risk that the fire we lit would jump our fireline and burn out of control.
To learn more about my pal John Markalunas, the firefighter/photographer who took this picture of two Pikers lighting a midnight burnout, click HERE.
That photo exudes terror for me. And the Pike crew looks so calm.