Leaves have turned orange and brown, like New England in late autumn. Second, firefighters are everywhere. You can tell them by their nearly incomprehensible discussions of flashovers and fuel types, hot spots and hotshots. The most lasting impression, however, is the amiable behavior of both residents and firefighters. One side reeling from disaster and the other exhaustion, they are unfailingly upbeat and polite.
Southern hospitality extends to private bathrooms, refrigerators and telephones.
Pictures of firefighters, drawn by pre-schoolers, decorate a fire station bulletin board a place otherwise reserved for logistical plans and Roy Rogers' obituary. Suggs isn't far from home, compared with many of his colleagues. Cindy Wolfe has come down from Alaska with the Bureau of Land Management, an agency that doesn't even operate east of the Mississippi. Firefighters have converged on Florida from Indian reservations, from Puerto Rico, even from Russia. There, military-style commanders turn chaos into order.