Braving the Flames: The Risks and Reality of Hotshot Firefighting

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[Photo: Shane Greer working with the Pike Hotshots at the Blackhall Fire. Credit: Kari Greer]

With the death of nearly an entire hotshot firefighting crew in Arizona over the weekend, the nation's attention has turned to the difficult, often dangerous work these men and women perform on the front lines of Western wildfires.

In Colorado, hotshot crews have played a critical role in this year's very active firefighting season, as well. Shane Greer, of Lakewood, describes his experience working as a hotshot. He spent more than a decade with the Pike Hotshots, based in Monument.

And host Ryan Warner talks with John MacLean, author of Fire on the Mountain, about Colorado's deadly South Canyon wildfire. The blaze that killed 14 firefighters, among them hotshots and a helicopter crew, blew up near Glenwood Springs 19 years ago this week.