THE FIRE BRIGADE
By Jack Random
Jonas waited for the call. As nervous as the day his father took
him to a Texas brothel to become a man, he fought to hold back his
anxiety. He considered himself a
patriot and a warrior. After two
tours in America’s war in the Middle East, he grew tired of taking orders from
a commander who was not committed to victory. He walked his own path – a path that led to sorrow and
desperation. He married and
divorced before the vows could go cold.
He wandered from job to job and town to town with the aimlessness of a
gambler on a losing streak.
He found redemption and purpose in
a group of like-minded individuals in the Northern California town of
Redding. The town had burned to
the ground some years back. They
rebuilt with a mind to survive the next fire. Jonas got a job as an auto mechanic and spent most of his
free time shooting guns at the local range and riding his old Harley in the
hills.
The Brigade spotted him from his
online presence. He hated the government. He hated Republicans almost as much as
he hated Democrats. He loved guns
and fast cars and hot women. He
liked drugs, beer and whiskey. He
never went to church but he still considered himself a God fearing man. He liked NASCAR and football and Harley
Davidson. He was one of them.
#
They were individuals dedicated to
their mission. They received no
salary or wages for their labor – though they did receive a stipend to cover
expenses from the national organization.
They worked on weekends and holidays and their numbers were
growing. They now had an active
membership of over fifty trained firemen and a hundred more unskilled
volunteers. Some women were among
them but they made it a point to call themselves firemen. They didn’t believe in political
correctness and went out of their way to defy the liberal standards of polite
society. They used language that
would make a bartender blush.
Their jurisdiction ran from the Canadian to the Mexican border.
For the last
decade wildfires ravaged much of the west coast forestlands. Every fire erupted like a volcano and
spread through the dry brush like the chain reaction of a split atom. The Fire Brigade did not believe in
global warming. They did not
believe that human activity had any real impact on the planet’s climate. The climate was in God’s hands and the
ravages of fire were the will of God.
Those who perished or lost their homes, their belongings and loved ones
deserved to be punished.
The Brigade
protected their own people.
Everyone else could go to hell – and surely would. They had chapters in four states but
most of them were in California – the most liberal and godless state in
America. They were on
constant alert and stood ready to answer the call of any and all emergencies.
Their leader
was a man named Willy Johnson – a rail of a man with a full unkempt beard. He came from North Carolina with a
message for anyone willing to listen:
The world would soon confront what he called The Great Reckoning. It was time past time to choose sides
and get right with the Lord. His
Lord was the Old Testament Lord, the vengeful fire and brimstone Lord, the God
of wrath and destruction. His God
was merciful as well but only if you were blessed with His divine
sanctity.
##
Willy first called Jonas when
conditions for a major fire arose along the Rogue River in Southern
Oregon. The drought that plagued
California for decades had moved north.
Land that was once known for its rich plant life and thick green brush
fed by a constant supply of rain and river water was suddenly parched and dry
as an instruction manual. The
rivers ran low and sucked up all the water the clouds could release. The land along the Rogue became a
tinderbox waiting for a spark. The
Pacific wind that flowed through the canyon that the river carved would carry a
flame a hundred miles before the local firefighters could react. The fire would spread through protected
forestlands including the liberal tourist Mecca known as Ashland.
###
Jonas was having second thoughts. He had fought fires with the Brigade in
Paradise and Pine Mountain. Though
they faced opposition from officials, none could deny their effectiveness. They were willing to go where others
would not go. They took chances
and, yes, they lost lives but they saved exponentially more than they
lost. The local papers described
them as heroes but they refused to take credit. On the rare occasions when Willy spoke to the media he stuck
to the script.
“We’re only doing what anyone
would do. We see people in trouble
and we try to help. We fight
fires. That’s what we do.”
Willy instructed Jonas to scout
the area. He spent a week on site
from Bandon to Ashland. He got to
know some of the people along the way.
They were good people. A
lot of them had their heads on crooked but you can’t blame them, can you? People are as people are taught. People believe what they’re told to
believe. The people in the Brigade
were exceptions. Some people – the
chosen few – rise above their upbringing to become leaders and trailblazers
like the pioneers that settled the American continent. Others – like the savage tribes that
were here before the Christian landing – had to make way. It is the nature of progress that it
always comes at a price.
####
Magdalena ran the Italian
restaurant at the beginning of the main drag in Ashland. She inherited the job from her
mother. Though the restaurant
changed hands a number of times its management remained in the same hands for
over two decades. She knew all the
locals and treated everyone who entered the doors with respect. Some of the tourists were demanding and
difficult but they all soon yielded to her grounded charms.
Jonas
discovered Gepetto’s on his first visit to Ashland and made it a point to eat
there every time he returned. He
would sit at the small bar and chat with Magdalena when she wasn’t busy serving
customers. The food was excellent
and he enjoyed watching her interact with the locals. They were like a family and it aroused a vague sense of
jealousy in him. He didn’t know
what to make of it. His upbringing
was difficult on the good days.
His father was a mean drunk and his mother was not a whole lot
better. They had time enough to
take care of their own needs and not much left for the needs of their
children.
Magdalena must
have thought Jonas had a crush on her but the truth was: He would have been happy with her
friendship. He sometimes
fantasized that she was his sister.
They would enjoy Thanksgiving or Christmas at a long table of siblings
and relatives. They would joke and
laugh and sip glasses of wine while basking in the ambiance of familial
love. His own family was less than
accepting of his ways. His parents
split up when he was in diapers and his siblings – there were four of them – he
no longer knew. They wanted
nothing to do with him and he felt pretty much the same.
#####
Maybe the important lesson Jonas
learned from the Brigade was that skilled firemen knew how to steer the
flames. That was why they lit
fires to cut off a wildfire’s path.
The Brigade drove a fire like cowboys drive a herd of cattle. Every fire had a distinct
personality. Some were easily led
while others were stubborn. You
had to push and pull and slap them around like a mule with his mind made
up.
Jonas became one of them when he
demonstrated the ability to steer a stubborn wildfire. He took a lead role in the Pine
Mountain fire and earned his marks.
He was fearless. He crawled
inside a raging fire and ripped out its heart.
That was why Willy chose him for
an even more prominent role on the Rogue River project. Together they studied satellite photos
and live footage revealing how the river carved the land and the land guided
the forest. Their mission was
twofold: Guide the fire away from
the good working folk of Medford to the godless liberal elites of Ashland. It would not be easy but with the help
of the Brigade they were certain they would succeed.
######
Jonas received the call while
dining at Gepetto’s. A logging
operation sparked a fire down the river at Crooked Bend. His crew of seven men – six men and one
woman – would be ready inside thirty minutes at a safe house in Medford.
When Jonas threw a twenty and an
extra five on the bar, Magdalena asked if everything was okay. He shrugged and said it was but his
expression conveyed the opposite message.
He told her more than he should have. He said their was a fire and warned her that if it got close
she should consider getting out.
She smiled and said thanks. In the decades of her family’s
residence in Ashland, a wildfire had never threatened them.
He knew in that instant that she
would not heed his or anyone else’s warning. She would remain with her friends and family. She would rather die than live without
them. He wanted to explain but
time escaped. His crew was
waiting.
#######
They were tried and true
believers. Four of them grew up in
Redding. They went to church at
Easter and Christmas. They voted
Republican but only in presidential elections. They hated Democrats and loved baiting longhair hippie types
in the local bar. They recruited
Jonas and believed in him and in his ability to lead. One was a biker from Reno, Nevada, one was from a Sacramento
white supremacy group and the woman was Willy’s girlfriend. She was willing and able but relatively
new in the field.
When Jonas
arrived at the safe house their preparations were all but finished. They showed him on a map where the fire
sparked south of Grants Pass and where it was headed. He broke them into teams of two and assigned them precise
positions where they could guide the fire. Willy’s girlfriend, Alice, would go with him.
They climbed
into their four-wheel drive vehicles and headed directly to their assigned
places along the Rogue River Canyon. They would stay in contact by phone, make camp and begin the
hard work of establishing control of the fire. Jonas and Alice took their position outside Jacksonville at
the turning point where the fire could be directed north above Medford or south
along Ashland Creek to the heart of Ashland.
########
By midday they
were making steady progress. The
main branch of the fire grew stronger and headed straight to Jacksonville. He ordered his team to converge on the
turning point. He directed Alice
to meet them in town and wait for his word. Alice seemed reluctant to leave him and Jonas wondered if
her purpose was to keep an eye on him.
Did Willy doubt him? Was
this his final test as a leader in the Brigade? He had to admit he did not know which way he would
turn. He wanted to secure his role
in the group. It was his
family. He was honored when Willy
chose him to lead this operation.
But he also wanted to protect Magdalena and the people he came to know
and regard with warm affection.
They were the family he wished he had.
“Willy told me
to stick with you and that’s what I’m going to do,” said Alice.
“Willy put me
in charge of this operation,” Jonas replied.
“That’s
right.”
“Then follow
my orders, damn it! That fire’s
heading home and it’s bearing down fast!
It aint going to wait for us to work things out.”
“Willy told
me…”
“I’m telling
you: The best place to organize
the Brigade is in the center of town.
Now someone’s got to stay here and watch it coming. The rest of us need to be ready to take
positions and you need to be there to explain the situation!”
They were
stationed at a viewpoint overlooking the canyon. The fire could move in any number of directions. It was fast, hot and unpredictable. If they had people in town they could
react to any contingency. If they
were all at the viewpoint, their reaction would be delayed and the local
firefighters could establish control.
It made sense and Alice knew it.
“Okay,” she
finally conceded. “You keep me
posted,” she added as she climbed into her jeep and headed for town.
Jonas took a
deep breath and braced himself for what had to be done.
#########
Magdalena
watched the reports on the local television station. The fire was burning hot and moving down the Rogue River
Canyon. The fire chief was certain
they could stop it before it hit any major towns or cities. They’d handled fires like this before
and they wanted people to remain calm.
She wouldn’t
have thought too much about it except for the words of warning by a man she
hardly knew. There was something
in the way he said it and the look in his eyes. Of course the fire wouldn’t reach Ashland but still it
worried her. Most of the people
who worked in their town lived in Medford or Talent and she worried for
them.
She had little
choice. Even if she wanted to get
out she would have to leave behind the people she loved – including her own
children. No one in Ashland was
panicking so she wouldn’t either.
The stranger was just trying to show his concern. Like so many other tourists and people
passing through, he liked her – maybe he fell just a little in love – and he
wanted to impress her. She smiled
at the thought and got on with the business of serving the next customer.
#
From his perch
on the overlook, Jonas saw the fire carving its way toward him. He saw the position of the Forest
Service and its official fire fighting force on the north side of the
river. He saw them slowly
branching out and preparing to take positions on both side of the river. Their movements were slow as molasses
and as predictable as Pavlov’s dogs.
They intended to stop the fire’s southern route before fighting it on
the north. His job was to distract
them by creating a flare-up to the north and leading them to believe that there
was little danger in the fire branching to the south. The primary branch of the fire was north, meaning it had to
jump the river to take the southern route.
The first
thing Jonas learned about fire is that it hates water. Water in the air, in the ground, in the
trees or in the brush on the forest floor thwarts fire and pushes it on a
different path. The second thing
Jonas learned is that fire loves fire.
Just as a fire will avoid water at all costs, it will go to great
lengths to find and join fire to fire.
It will cross highways, streams and rivers to find its own kind. If a flame sparked on the south side of
the river, the main fire would jump the river to find it.
All options
were on the table. His team in
Jacksonville awaited his instructions.
They were all capable firemen and they could move three times faster
than the forest service or the local firefighters. The official teams had to observe protocol: they gathered
information, analyzed the data and consulted with each other before their people
could react. His team operated on
his word and his word alone.
##
Unknown to
Jonas, Willy Johnson was monitoring the situation from Medford. He had a team of loyal soldiers and a
handful of drones to track the fire and the position of the firefighters. He knew where the forest service and
the local firefighters were camped.
He knew when and where they moved.
He knew where the fire was moving and how fast it was going. He also knew where his people
were.
Alice called
him from Jacksonville to update him on the situation. She didn’t trust Jonas and she didn’t hide it.
“The son of a
bitch has the hots for some broad in Ashland,” she said.
“That don’t
mean he’s not with us,” he replied.
“Let’s wait and see.”
Willy liked
Jonas. He admired his bravery and
skill. He was always two steps
ahead of his colleagues in the Brigade.
He knew this was a critical point in his training. They all faced the turning point. He remembered well his own turning
point. Back in North Carolina he
was called upon to delay his team of volunteers and let a fire consume a church
of predominantly black worshipers.
He knew some of them. He
broke bread with some of them. He
had a drink or two with some of them.
He chose the
Brigade but it wasn’t easy. Until
the last moment he didn’t know whether or not he could go through with it. That decision changed his life. It tortured him for months but he
survived it. It made him
stronger. It solidified his
commitment to the cause. He would
give Jonas a chance. He would wait
and observe until there was no stepping back. It was the least he could do for the man he hoped would
succeed him as the leader of the western branch of The Brigade.
###
Jonas saw an
opportunity and he grabbed it. He
called the Forest Service anonymously and informed them there was a renegade
operation of firefighters intent on sabotage. He then called Alice with instructions and coordinates. He would send two teams to the north
side of the river and two to the south.
It would seem reasonable to them and Alice would bury her
suspicions. But the coordinates he
provided would take them into the enemy camps. They would be captured and questioned. If they were allowed to operate at all,
they would be under official supervision.
They would be unable to carry out their mission.
He told Alice
to meet him at the overlook.
Together they would watch the operation unfold. They would observe the Forest Service
sending their firefighters to the north to counter the flare-up. They would watch as their people lit
fires on the south side of the river, attracting the flames of the primary
fire. Before nightfall the raging
fire would be speeding south toward Ashland.
That was the
Brigade’s plan. But Jonas had
another plan. He would watch long
enough to be certain that Brigade’s plan was foiled. Then he would head out. By the time Alice arrived at the lookout he would be long
gone.
####
Magdalena was
stunned to hear on the news that the Rogue River fire had taken an unexpected
turn. Still raging out of control,
it turned south at Jacksonville and was now headed straight to Ashland. A warning was issued to all
residents: Evacuation was advised. Mandatory evacuation was under
consideration.
She thought of
the stranger who had foreseen this development and wondered what he knew that
others did not. Just then he
walked in the door but his eyes did not find hers as they normally would
have. He stared with unmistakable
fear at the tall, thin bearded man who was sitting at the counter.
Willy turned
and smiled.
#####
Jonas learned
what took place on the drive to Ashland.
The radio reported that the Rogue River fire had taken an unexpected
turn to the south. He didn’t have
the time or resources to go back and change what was happening. The fire would hold its course. He figured that Willy’s doubts went
deeper than sending Alice along to monitor his actions. Willy oversaw the operation from
somewhere nearby.
The Brigade
would be after him now. They were
capable of killing and he was their target. But all he could think about was Magdalena. It seemed strange. He had never slept with her. He had never kissed her. Hell, he had never even gone out with
her. Still, at this critical
moment, the turning point of a journey that could mean life or death, she
dominated his thoughts and his affection grew. Was she a witch?
Did she hold unnatural sway over his heart? It didn’t matter.
The only thing that mattered was that she was safe. He would do whatever he had to do.
Midway down the
mountain and through the forest he realized that the Brigade posed a threat not
only to him but to Magdalena as well.
If Willy had observed his behavior over the last week, they knew about
Magdalena. If they knew about
Magdalena, they wouldn’t think twice about taking her hostage.
He called the
Ashland police and told them he was one of the saboteurs who steered the fire
south. He asked them to confirm
his story with the Forest Service.
He said he’d be waiting outside Gepetto’s to turn himself in.
######
“Hello,
Judas,” said Willy. “Surprised to
see me?”
“The name’s
Jonas,” he replied. “Nothing
surprises me.”
“Maybe you’d
like to say hi to your woman before we take leave.”
He motioned to
Magdalena who stood frozen like a bronze statue in Lithia Park. She had no idea what was going down but
she realized she was in the center of it.
“Her name is
Magdalena and she’s not my woman.
She’s got nothing to do with this.”
“Of course
not,” said Willy. “But here you
are, risking your life for a woman you hardly know. Was it worth it?”
It was a
question he had asked himself many times.
He had turned it over and over on sleepless nights and it always led to
the same conclusion: worth it or not, he had no choice. A man can no more control his heart
than the moon can control the sun.
“Let’s take
this outside,” said Jonas.
Willy
hesitated and looked back and forth between Jonas and Magdalena, calculating
whether it was worth it to take her captive if only to exact his revenge on the
young man who rejected his paternal affection.
“It’s your
lucky day,” he said to Magdalena as he rose and followed Jonas out the
door.
#######
Four officers
of the Ashland Police force were waiting to take them both into custody. Willy was stunned. His chosen one had outfoxed him in the
end. He gave him a hard look and
winked.
“I always knew
you was a step ahead of the rest of us.”
########
Over the
course of the next seven days, the authorities rounded up the remaining members
of the Fire Brigade that sabotaged the Rogue River fire fighting campaign. Over the next seven weeks they closed
down all chapters of the organization across the states of California, Oregon,
Washington and Colorado.
The Forest
Service and the local firefighters managed to contain the fire before it
reached the town of Ashland. Jonas
went to jail with special consideration for his action and cooperation in
saving the residents of Ashland and turning evidence on the Brigade. He would serve six months before being
released.
Despite a
powerful yearning, he never saw Magdalena again.
[With regard
to Arthur C. Clarke and his classic story Fahrenheit 451.]
Copyright 2018
Ray Miller
