Fire Aloft

As soon as they stepped off the boat in New York, Irish immigrants Jim Leary and his brother Billy were conscripted into the Union Aero Corps, forced to fight in a civil war they had no interest in. Ten years later, with the war finally over and America divided into two nations, each brother believes the other died in combat. Jim Leary, now calling himself "Captain Gallagher," has taken to the air over the southwestern American territories in a stolen airship, leading the life of a pirate, raiding trains, stage coaches, and even other airships, the ane of both the Union and the fledgling Confederate States of America. A consortium of businessmen, tired of losing money and goods to Gallagher and his pirate cohorts, has hired a former Confederate air admiral to hunt them down. Now Gallagher finds himself pursued by an overwhelming force led by the infamous Garrett "Butcher" Prescott, the man he blames for his brother's death, and the beautiful and accomplished Justine Arthurs, an airship pilot, former Pinkerton agent and Union spy. Gallagher thinks he's got a plan that will bring down the Valkyrie, Prescott's massive dreadnaught. What he doesn't know is that the chief engineer on the Valkyrie is his longlost brother.

Weather is never static. It is always dynamic. Its interpretation is an art. The environment is in control in wildland firefighting. Free-burning fires are literally nourished by weather elements, atmospheric components, and atmospheric motion. Outguessing Mother Nature in order to win control is an extremely difficult task. We need to soothe her with understanding. We have attempted to present information in such a way that your daily and seasonal awareness of fire weather can begin with reliable basic knowledge. We have kept the use of technical terms to a minimum, but where it was necessary for clear and accurate presentation, we have introduced and defined the proper terms. Growing awareness of fire weather, when combined with related experience on fires, can develop into increasingly intuitive, rapid, and accurate applications. Toward this end, we have preceded each chapter with a paragraph or two on important points to look for in relating weather factors to fire control planning and action.