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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. When did the author work for the Forest Service?
(a) During World War II.
(b) During the Korean War.
(c) During World War I.
(d) During college.

3. What did the Fish Creek fire sound like as the author looked for an escape?
(a) A freight train.
(b) A whooshing sound.
(c) A tornado.
(d) A waterfall.

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

5. Who named the area around Mann Gulch the "Gates of the Mountains?"
(a) Merriweather and Smith.
(b) Smith and Gulch.
(c) Clark and Simon.
(d) Lewis and Clark.

6. Where was the author's cabin located?
(a) In Seeley Lake, Montana.
(b) In Smiley Lake, Montanta.
(c) In Missoula, Montana.
(d) In Mann Gulch, Montana.

7. How did the additional firefighters needed in Mann Gulch get there?
(a) By boat on the Missouri River.
(b) By jeep to within a mile of the fire
(c) By hiking up the side of the gulch.
(d) By plane and parachute.

8. How many Smokejumpers were in the plane ready to parachute into Mann Gulch?
(a) Fifteen.
(b) Nineteen.
(c) Sixteen.
(d) Thirteen.

9. Who was the head of the Helena National Forest Canyon Ferry District?
(a) Wag Dodge.
(b) Robert Jansson.
(c) Charles Merriweather.
(d) Bill Harrison.

10. What was one reasonable cause of the Mann Gulch fire advanced by scientists?
(a) Crown fire.
(b) A second lightning strike.
(c) A thunderhead which sat on the fire.
(d) Fire whirls.

11. What important piece of equipment was broken in the parachute landing at Mann Gulch?
(a) The food rations.
(b) The radio.
(c) The first aid kit.
(d) The water barrel.

12. Where was the author when he was startled to see a terribly burned deer?
(a) Standing at the base of the mountain.
(b) Fighting the fire at Fish Creek.
(c) Standing at Willow Creek.
(d) Sitting on Mrs. Brown's porch.

13. How did Dodge die five years after the fire?
(a) Heart attack.
(b) Parkinson's.
(c) Hodgkin's disease.
(d) Lung cancer.

14. What is a Pulaski?
(a) Half-ax and half-hoe.
(b) Half-hoe and half-shovel.
(c) Half-shovel and half-ax.
(d) Half-ax and half-spade.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What would have happened had the author stepped across the fire immediately when it jumped the trail?

2. What did the author hear a voice say to him as he ran to avoid being killed in the Fish Creek fire?

3. How long did the author hear stories about the Mann Gulch fire before he felt he needed to see it himself?

4. What did Jansson send up to the survivors of the Mann Gulch fire?

5. What did the first Smokejumpers call the fires into which they jumped?

(see the answer keys)

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