Steve Merks Mercer raced along the last half mile into the Hoodie One camp. At least that’s what everyone else called it. The Oregon-based Mount Hood Aviation always called itself MHA as if they were too professional to have a sense of humor. The firefighting outfit had been around for decades, and they’d been good, but something strange had happened here. Suddenly, MHA—twenty miles out of Hood River, Oregon, which was hell and gone from everything except a whole lot of wildfires—was the ultimate post.
MerksSomething had changed up on that remote hilltop. Now every wildland firefighter wanted in but MHA only skimmed the very cream of the crop. MHA became like the ultimate street gang of the wildfire scene—hence Hoodie One.
Foo Fighters roared out of Merks’ speakers, a piece from his niec
