Written by Philip Connor. Abridged by Jane Marshall.

Near the end of April, with the snow melted, the mule packers arrive with supplies and ask the fire lookout if he ever gets lonely or sad in his wilderness lookout but he's not about to confide the near mystical feelings he experiences to two guys in leather chaps and cowboy hats.

Capturing the wonder and grandeur of this most unusual job and place, Fire Season evokes both the eerie pleasure of solitude and the majesty, might and beauty of untamed fire at its wildest. Connors' time on the peak is filled with drama - there are fires large and small; spectacular midnight lightning storms and silent mornings awakening above the clouds; surprise encounters with smokejumpers and black bears.

Read by Kerry Shale

Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall Production for BBC Radio 4. Show less