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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. How did Rumsey verify that the tin can of potatoes the men found near Hellman's marker was the same one left there after the fire?

2. What did Mike Mansfield accomplish for the families of the fallen Smokejumpers?

3. What did Maclean believe the atomic mushroom to be a symbol of in the 20th century?

4. What does Maclean consider a natural reaction near the end of a fire story?

5. What emotion did Maclean believe was the last one felt by those still living when young people have died?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the gulch look like forty years after the fire? Was there any living vegetation?

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

3. What happened to the men when they left the foreman, Dodge, at the site of the escape fire? What name did the author give to the point at which the men left? From what perspective did the author tell the story of their assent?

4. 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?

5. When Maclean and his group began their trek to Mann Gulch, how did Maclean respond to those who were concerned about his heart being strong enough to make it to the site of the fire?

6. 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?

7. What was it like when the fire reached its height and totally covered the landscape? To what did Maclean compare the fire at this point?

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. What was the movie released in 1952 about the Mann Gulch fire? What does Maclean note about the film and its historic accuracy?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who was Frank Derry? For what comic stunt is he known? What were some of his contributions to fire fighting?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the escape fire set by Wag Dodge. Where was the fire located? Why did Dodge light his fire? Upon what information did he base his decision to light the fire? Why was it controversial? What has Dodge's fire contributed to modern firefighting? What are some of the theories concerning the escape fire causing the death of the Smokejumpers?

Essay Topic 3

Maclean and Laird Richardson developed three main questions for which they would seek answers during their study of the Mann Gulch fire. What were those three questions, and did the two men find the answers? If so, what were the answers they found?

(see the answer keys)

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