Glacier National Park, MontanaA flash of light—BAM! An explosion—and this old, wooden tower jiggles. I sit bolt upright out of a sound sleep. I’m not thinking clearly, but I know I’m on a mountaintop, in a fire tower, in the middle of the night, and out the window I see flames. A lightning storm is in progress, and there’s fire down by the outhouse. It seems.

My daughter is visiting and is in her sleeping bag on the floor. I tell her I’m going to put the fire out and am out the door. I go downstairs to the first floor where there are tools and supplies. With my headlamp on high, I pull the Forest Service version of a backpack super soaker off