N Kenworthy

This story is about a flame that neither time nor 3,000 miles could extinguish. Jake and Matti found happiness despite the odds. It tells of the collateral damage created along the way, how they made new friends in a distant state, brought together five generations, melded families, healed old wounds, and welcomed a newborn while Jake delivered a pitch during what some consider “The Greatest Softball Game.”

Little else in life is as dangerous as fire jumping. Flying past towering pillars of smoke, parachuting down to the edge of an all-consuming blaze, shoveling and sawing for hours upon hours, days at a time, all to hold the line and push back against the raw power of Mother Nature. But there’s also little else as thrilling - at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are one of the most exclusive firefighting squads in the nation, and the job is in Rowan’s blood: her father is a legend in the field. She’s been fighting fires since her eighteenth birthday.