Thanks for the nice comments. I didn’t want to write too much about the fire fighters, but I think this is another interesting point. It was a tragic chain of events that led to their deaths. Standard practice is to have a man on high ground acting as a spotter and communicating with the crew.
Failure number 1. The spotters position was over run with fire and he was ordered to evacuate.
Failure number 2. The radios kept breaking up and they lost communication with the crew.
Failure number 3. The fire boss attempted to rescue the crew by driving a truck in to get them, but couldn’t get through the fire.
Failure number 4. A plane loaded with fire retardants was in the air directly over them at the time, but was unaware of the men being trapped below.
Failure number 5. The crew not recognizing that the fire had done a 180 degree shift and turned back on them.
The crew had only one survivor, the spotter who had been ordered to evacuate his position.
Another note. They were all young men in their early 20’s , most with wives and kids. And they were a volunteer unit, which meant that they
were not state government employees. When they were killed the state denied their widows and children any survivor benefits. Public outcry eventually won out and the families were taken care of.
As for the ride thread. I will probably continue to use it when I’m out bopping around. And if I do a big ride that has research involved and lots of photos, I may do my own thing. It’s all good.