The same night, Dorinda pours her heart out to Pete, who reluctantly opts to take the job if it means they will remain together. However, he is called to work an extra day fighting the current fire. As he and Al assault the leading edge of the blaze, Al's plane hits a burning tree, causing an engine fire. Pete makes a dangerously steep dive to drop a retardant load and extinguish Al's engine, but as he tries to pull up out of the wildfire's wrath, his own plane catches fire and explodes.
