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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What time did Dodge's watch say when he rose from the ashes of his own fire?

2. Who did Maclean meet who finally makes the connection for him to Robert Sallee?

3. Where did Maclean finally locate Walter Rumsey?

4. What were the emotions governing the Mann Gulch tragedy since it was first analyzed?

5. When did the investigative committee that the chief forester assembled arrive in Mann Gulch?

Short Essay Questions

1. Whom did Maclean find at the Hoerner Waldorf-Champion paper mill? What information did this person give Maclean to move him along in his search for Sallee and Rumsey?

2. How did the author describe the final moments of the men's lives before the fire overtook them? What elements of nature were prominent in their lives just before their deaths? How did they actually die?

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

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. What did the land in Mann Gulch look like in the aftermath of the fire?

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

7. 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?

8. How did Jansson's explanation of why the non-flammable objects such as wallets and watches were found uphill from the men's bodies? How did his explanation differ from that of the Forest Service?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout his story, Maclean used religious symbolism, metaphors, and beliefs to write about the fire. Discuss the influence of religion in Maclean's telling of the Mann Gulch fire.

Essay Topic 2

Maclean stated that one important part of his investigation was to learn if anything good had come from the Mann Gulch fire. What were some of the changes made by the foremen, spotters, pilots, and Smokejumpers to ensure their safety during a fire? What was the logic behind these changes?

Essay Topic 3

Richard Rothermel constructed a graph to elucidate the tragedy of the fire at Mann Gulch. What did this graph show Maclean and Laird about the fire and the escape route the Smokejumpers had taken? According to Rothermel, what specific influences were in play the day of the fire? What specific gap in Smokejumper training did Maclean note due to Rothermel's graph?

(see the answer keys)

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