"That's a once-in-a-lifetime look there. I just happened to be in the
right place at the right time. I've been doing this for 20 years and it
ranks in the top three days of fire behavior I've seen."
The day was Aug. 6, the Sunday when several forest fires converged near Sula
into a firestorm that overran 100,000 acres and destroyed 10 homes.
Temperatures in the flame front were estimated at more than 800 degrees.
Nevertheless, McColgan said, the wildlife appeared to be taking the crisis
in stride, gathering near the East Fork of the Bitterroot River where it
crosses under U.S. Highway 93.
"They know where to go, where their safe zones are," McColgan
said. "A lot of wildlife did get driven down there to the river. There
were some bighorn sheep there. A small deer was standing right underneath
me, under the bridge."
McColgan snapped the photo with a Kodak DC280 digital camera. Since he was
working as a Forest Service firefighter, the shot is public property and
cannot be sold or used for commercial purposes