It's another clear and beautiful day in Shoshone National Forest. Crisp, pine-scented air fills your lungs as you gaze out at the unspoiled wilderness that is your home. A rolling expanse of evergreen trees spreads across the landscape like a vast, verdant ocean. Distant mountains climb sharply along the horizon, their jagged slopes illuminated by the bright morning sun rising slowly behind you. Birdsong chimes out from all directions, and you can barely make out the hiss of a roaring creek somewhere far below.

As a fire lookout, your job is to keep watch over several miles of the forest and check for telltale signs of growing fires. Your tower, West Canyon Lookout, looms high in the hills above the hiking trails below. It's rare to see anybody up here besides the occasional lost hiker, and there are days when it feels as though the entire forest is your private garden.

The handheld radio recharging on your desk crackles into life.

"West Canyon, this is Slate Peak, do you copy?"

"I copy, Slate Peak. What's up, Annie?"

"I can't find my updated maps. Bear Claw Trail is still closed for repairs, right?"

"Affirmative, Bear Claw's closed for the summer while they clear out all the fallen trees."

"Got it, sorry to bother you! Slate Peak out."

Gulping down the last dregs of your morning coffee, you throw some provisions into your day pack and tightly knot the chunky laces on your hiking boots. The plan for today is