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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Laird and Maclean realize early in their investigation of the Mann Gulch fire?
(a) They needed to find all of the firefighters who rescued the survivors.
(b) They needed Rumsey and Sallee with them at the site of the fire.
(c) They needed assistance from the Forest Service at the site of the fire.
(d) They needed the Thol family at the site of the fire.

2. Who was the first man to crawl through the crevice at the reef during their escape from the fire?
(a) Hellman.
(b) Rumsey.
(c) Sallee.
(d) Diettert.

3. What did Maclean believe the atomic mushroom to be a symbol of in the 20th century?
(a) A symbol of everything wrong with governmental agencies such as the Forest Service.
(b) A symbol of the future of science.
(c) A symbol of American supremacy in firefighting.
(d) A symbol of our inner fear of the explosive power of the universe.

4. How did W.R. Moore assist Maclean in his research about Mann Gulch?
(a) He ordered that all documents on the fire be sent to Washington, D.C.
(b) He ordered that all documentation on the fire be sent to the library in Missoula.
(c) He ordered that all Forest Service documents on the fire be available to Maclean.
(d) He ordered that all documentation on the fire be put on the internet.

5. Where did Maclean finally find Robert Sallee?
(a) In Helena.
(b) In Missoula.
(c) In Seattle.
(d) In Portland.

6. What does Maclean consider a natural reaction near the end of a fire story?
(a) To become personally involved in finding a cause for the fire.
(b) To want the Forest Service to take responsibilty.
(c) To become a distant and detached spectator.
(d) To want to learn more about firefighting.

7. What is "Red Skies of Montana?"
(a) A book written about the Mann Gulch Fire.
(b) The name given to the Gates of the Mountains.
(c) A movie made about the Mann Gulch Fire.
(d) The new branch of the Smokejumpers.

8. What effect did Dodge's escape fire have on the Mann Gulch fire, according to Maclean?
(a) The escape fire leaves the Mann Gulch fire a scientific impossibility.
(b) The escape fire made the Mann Gulch fire a blow up.
(c) The escape fire would have stopped the Mann Gulch fire.
(d) The escape fire leaves the Mann Gulch fire a mystery.

9. Where did Maclean and his party land their boat to begin their trip to Mann Gulch?
(a) At the entrance to Merriweather Canyon.
(b) At the base of Fields Gulch.
(c) At the mouth of Rescue Gulch.
(d) At the foot of the Gates of the Mountain.

10. When did Wag Dodge die?
(a) 1955.
(b) 1975.
(c) 1965.
(d) 1945.

11. How did Maclean compare the fire at the top of the ridge to a snake?
(a) The fire shed itself onto grasses and trees like a snake shedding its skin.
(b) The fire slithered though the rocks using its tongue to cut through obstructions.
(c) The fire ran through the grass serpentine toward the top of the ridge.
(d) The fire slowly made its way along the ground lighting everything in its path.

12. What year is generally seen as the beginning of modern scientific study of fire behavior?
(a) 1922.
(b) 1946.
(c) 1946.
(d) 1918.

13. What did Maclean call the "No Man's Land" of the Mann Gulch fire?
(a) The point at which the men can see no escape from the fire.
(b) The point at which the fire was fifty yards behind the men running in semidarkness.
(c) The point at which the fire becomes a blowup.
(d) The point at which the men can run niether forward nor backward.

14. What well-known magazine had a lead article entitled "Smokejumpers Suffer Ordeal by Fire?"
(a) Time.
(b) Life.
(c) National Geographic.
(d) Look.

15. What did Maclean say was evidence of the strength of the fire when it hit the Smokejumpers on the ridge?
(a) It melted the soles of their shoes.
(b) It singed the hair on their heads.
(c) It blew the clothes off of their bodies.
(d) It blew the watches from their wrists.

Short Answer Questions

1. What common portrayal of death did Maclean believe did not occur for the Smokejumpers?

2. According to Sallee and Rumsey, toward the end of their run, how many times did the smoke part in order for them to see the top of the ridge?

3. What did Maclean call the "North Star that guides all arguments?"

4. What did thinking about the struggle for oxygen that the Smokejumpers' experienced remind the author of?

5. What did Maclean and the others agree was the second key point on the hillside they needed to locate?

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