Written by Philip Connor. Abridged by Jane Marshall.

May is relentless with wind, the fire lookout's tower vibrates, guy wires scream and the distant hills are swallowed in dust. As he spots a cloud rise from the hills his eye is drawn to the contours but he decides the spiral is just dust, it's colour and movement don't jibe with smoke. He quits his post early and finds a spot of early evening peace by a mountain pond.

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