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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who did Maclean meet who finally makes the connection for him to Robert Sallee?
(a) A French-Canadian nurse.
(b) A policeman.
(c) A registrar.
(d) A personnel director.

2. As an old man, what did the author hope to receive by his study of the Mann Gulch fire?
(a) A better understanding of the Forest Service.
(b) A better understanding of himself and people close to him.
(c) A better understanding of Sallee and Rumsey.
(d) A better understanding of the role of the Smokejumper.

3. What date did Maclean, Robinson, Sallee, and Rumsey agree to meet and visit Mann Gulch?
(a) June 8, 1976.
(b) July 1, 1978.
(c) July 4, 1976.
(d) June 3, 1978.

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

5. What were the two nonhuman elements Maclean said were left after sight and fear were gone?
(a) Heat and toxic gases.
(b) Carbon monoxide and flames.
(c) Smoke and flames.
(d) Fire and carbon dioxide.

Short Answer Questions

1. What effect did Dodge's escape fire have on the Mann Gulch fire, according to Maclean?

2. What did Maclean call the "No Man's Land" of the Mann Gulch fire?

3. 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?

4. What did Laird and Maclean realize early in their investigation of the Mann Gulch fire?

5. Where did Maclean finally find Robert Sallee?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were Sallee and Rumsey arguing about as Maclean approached them on the ridge? What did they agree on?

2. What did Maclean mean when he said, "viewing total conflagration is literally blinding, as sight becomes sound."

3. Who was Henry Thol, Sr.? What was his role in the Mann Gulch fire?

4. Who is the firsthand source of information Maclean and his investigative partner Laird Robinson set out to find before they did anything else? Why? Who were they looking for?

5. Why did both parents and the Forest Service hope for silence after the court judgments concerning suits filed against the Forest Service?

6. What different theories did Henry Thol on one side and Carl Gustafson present as to the escape fire set by Dodge? How did Maclean suggest the Review Board of the Mann Gulch fire might have immediately answered the question of the escape fire set by Dodge?

7. How did Dr. Hawkins describe the death process the Smokejumpers underwent in the final moments of their lives? To what did Maclean compare their suffering?

8. How did the perspective shift as the author continued his discussion of the fire from looking at the mushroom cloud in the sky? What did he hope to learn by changing perspective?

9. Maclean believed that the Smokejumpers did not see their lives in review as they died. What did he believe their final thoughts to be? How was he able to confirm his idea?

10. What object do Sallee and Rumsey discover at the site of a fallen comrade? Why was this discovery important?

(see the answer keys)

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