A woman firefighter with the Smokey Bear hotshots heads for dinner at the fire camp of the Basin Complex Fire. Many of the elite Hotshot crews have a woman or two, and while the profession is still overwhelmingly male, women are slowly entering at many levels.

The Texas Canyon Hotshots hitch a ride from the fire line to their trucks during the evening shift change at the La Brea Fire.

The Groveland Hotshots march in single file toward the safe zone after clearing a fire break in preparation for controlled burning.

Travis "Kid" Calka of the Texas Canyon Hotshots hangs on to the back of a truck carrying the rest of his crew at the La Brea Fire as they rush along a fire break to put out a spot fire .

A fire engine crew member hauls lengths of firehose up a steep hill through the brush to bring water to a spot fire that has jumped the fire break. The water is used to cool the fire so that a ground crew can clearcut line around the blaze and cover the embers with dirt.

A woman on the Chuchupati Flight Crew 530 uses her "Pulaski" tool to clear a circle around a spot fire that jumped over the fire break at the La Brea Fire.

A Groveland Hotshot firefighter gets an eye wash on the fire line for something in his eye.

A Dalton Hotshot firefighter clears a three foot (90cm) line down to bare soil around an errant fire that has jumped the fire break. Much of the dangerous work is performed by elite ground crews in steep terrain with 55 lb. (25 kg) packs, 25 lb.(11 kg) chainsaws, shovels and rakes, and two gallons (3.78 l) of water for a ten hour shift.

Daniel Diaz, a sawyer in the Kern Valley Hotshots, ends the day carrying his 25 lb (12 kg) chainsaw up a hill after clearing heavy brush around a spot fire at the La Brea Fire.

A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 drops a load of retardant on the Station Fire near Los Angeles. The airtanker can carry 12,000 gallons of water or retardant, costs $41,000 per day, looks great on TV, and is best suited for flat terrain, not the steep, hilly canyons of the Station Fire.

Joseph Darling of the Kern Valley Hotshots watches the fire line at the end of the day during the La Brea Fire in California.

A firefighting helicopter flies into thick smoke, a dangerous maneuver without visability in hilly territory, at the La Brea Fire in California. Firefighters are constantly balancing the risks of flying at night, in smoke or high wind, with the benefits of being able to use air support to fight fire.

Flame from the fire he has just lit chases a Vista Grande Hotshot firefighter uphill to the safe zone during a night burning operation, an attempt to cut off the main fire, at the Station Fire near Los Angeles.

Flying embers shoot past a Vista Grande Hotshot firefighter as winds pick up during a night burning operation at the Station Fire near Los Angeles.

A Vista Grande Hotshot firefighter pauses to assess his surroundings during a night burning operation at the Station Fire near Los Angeles.

Firefighters stand and salute the passing funeral procession of two Los Angeles firemen killed at the Station Fire. They two men's truck went over a cliff as they fled the fire. The job can be dangerous, and injury and death are always concerns.

Texas Canyon Hotshots firefighters crowd into an available truck for a ride from the fire line to their staging site as they head to camp after the evening shift change.