Fire On the Mountain

mtnfire

 

FIRE ON A MONTANA MOUNTAIN     Jay Bates

 

The call came in while we were out marking timber
Fire on the mountain, near Wolf Creek . A night to remember

We loaded in the Jeep with pulaskis and shovels
Not a minute to spare, we sped on like avenging angels

Out of the dark loomed an entire mountain glowing red with burning trees
We started up the mountain, a ragtag crew of twenty three

Halfway up we stopped to rest in the eerie red glow
And old Rodger told his tale of a young man, long ago

He had been on a smoke jumping crew in 1949 out of Mizzo
Fire, at the Gates of the Mountains, not far  from where we were, we knew

At the last minute he was called back to pack chutes and off flew the plane carrying the rest of the crew
That night they jumped into history and legend  as ten died the next day when the fire built and roared anew

At the end of the summer Rodger quit smoke jumping as he had known young men that died
And although he continued to battle fire, he didn’t like it, and knew the bravado of young men, he must abide

As a nearby tree torched with a roar, we were brought back to reality and knew we were in  for a hot time
We callow young men of  varying degrees and old Rodger were there to build and hold the line

To hold back the greedy flames and save Montana, one more time.
Oh you young men and women now sent out on fire, please heed the words of old Rodger

For no number of trees is worth another funeral pyre
Of callow young fellows  on a monstrous Montana fire