Wild Fire

Former navy lieutenant Ripley Vaughan, Mount Hood Aviation's (MHA) newest recruit, proves her firefighting skills early on when she flies her massive Erickson Aircrane, Diana Prince, to battle a major blaze over the Rock Creek Reservoir in eastern Oregon. She also nearly takes out top-gun Firehawk pilot Gordon Finchley, whose downed MD 530 leaves him floating on his back in the middle of the lake. Grateful to be alive yet now without a bird to fly, Gordon is sure his contract is finished. But MHA operates differently from most outfits of its kind, and Ripley's rock-steady poise complements Gordon and the rest of the tight-knit crew perfectly. Still, Ripley's betting on another short-term affair when a sudden change of assignment lands the couple in geographically and emotionally foreign territory where victory isn't about winning the war on the ground but about seeing life beyond the fires.