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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When did Dodge return to Missoula?
(a) When he collapsed from exhaustion.
(b) When his crew was all accounted for.
(c) When Jansson ordered him to.
(d) When his wife came to pick him up.

2. What did Harry Gisborne witness in 1929?
(a) A drift fire.
(b) A crown fire.
(c) A pitch fire.
(d) A blowup.

3. How many feet does a Smokejumper fall before his parachute opens?
(a) Twelve.
(b) Twenty.
(c) Seventy-five.
(d) Fifty.

4. What did the author feel while he was running away from the Fish Creek fire?
(a) Fear.
(b) Confusion.
(c) Excitement.
(d) Confidence.

5. Who was the spotter on the C-47 that dropped Smokejumpers into Mann Gulch?
(a) Earl Cooley.
(b) Fred Stillings.
(c) John Thol.
(d) Wag Dodge.

6. Why were Sylvia and Hellman not suffering from their burns?
(a) Their injuries were covered with novacaine.
(b) They were in a state of shock.
(c) Their nerve endings were destroyed.
(d) They were heavily sedated.

7. How did the author describe the sound of the fire getting very close?
(a) Like the sound of a waterfall.
(b) Like the sound of whistles.
(c) Like the sound of cracking bones.
(d) Like the sound of breaking glass.

8. What would have happened had the author stepped across the fire immediately when it jumped the trail?
(a) It would have been blown by opposite winds.
(b) It would have reached the water and extinguished itself.
(c) It would have reached beds of fallen needles and smoldered.
(d) It would have been caught between the lake and the mountain.

9. What did the author do when he reached the mountain ridge, having escaped the Fish Creek fire?
(a) Put out the fire on his shoelaces.
(b) Took in huge gulps of air.
(c) Sat down to rest.
(d) Cried.

10. What was the temperature in Helena when the Smokejumpers landed in Mann Gulch?
(a) 77 degrees, the coolest day on record.
(b) 101 degrees, dangerous for firefighters.
(c) 86 degrees, perfect jumping weather.
(d) 97 degrees, the hottest day on record.

11. For what organization did the Smokejumpers work?
(a) The Forest Service.
(b) The National Guard.
(c) The Air Force.
(d) The Army.

12. What happens when a fire up a hillside closes in on someone?
(a) Everything begins to feel only like thirst.
(b) Everything feels only like exhaustion.
(c) It is easier to breathe and find a way out.
(d) It generates adrenalin which helps to keep running.

13. What question did the author ask Mrs. Brown before leaving the lodge?
(a) He asked how to get back to the main road.
(b) He asked if she had started the fire.
(c) He asked if he could repay her for her kindness.
(d) He asked if she could feed him something.

14. What did the author hear a voice say to him as he ran to avoid being killed in the Fish Creek fire?
(a) "How're you doing, sonny?"
(b) "I have to go with you."
(c) "Can you see your way out?"
(d) "Are you lost, too?"

15. What animal was Fish Creek known for having in abundance?
(a) Buffalo.
(b) Deer.
(c) Cabins and lodges.
(d) Sheep.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where was the author when he saw smoke coming out of black holes in the snow?

2. Where did both Sylvia and Hellman die?

3. Who were the three men who ran toward the ridge together to escape the fire?

4. How did the author answer the question that the voice in the fire had asked?

5. How many men fought the Mann Gulch fire?

(see the answer keys)

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