Fire In the Hole

Fire in the Hole takes you on a long ride through the nuts and bolts career of professional forester Mark Lewing who shares his experiences with the U.S. Forest Service and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. If on the ground wildland firefighting trips your trigger, you will learn of his trials and tribulations, frustrations, long hot days and nights, social interactions and adventure abroad. While firefighting was never his primary duty, Mark had his hand in a wide variety of positions in the game usually on an as-needed basis but always from the perspective of one more adventure in his life. David A. Shouldice also leads you through his parallel experiences on the Skalkaho Complex from the Canadian point of view during Firestorm 2000. You will be guided through the historic and monumental efforts in the wake of Firestorm 2000 in Ross' Hole of Montana's Bitterroot Valley to salvage and restore the State Lands on the Hamilton Unit. Finally, the epilogue will provide you with insight into the world of firefighting that exists today and some food for thought on how conditions might be improved.