The fire had started in the southeast corner of the ridge and spread predictably, each hour claiming more of the slope. By dusk the whole ridge was burning. Then the wind reversed — a katabatic downdraft off the peaks — and pushed the fire line back in on itself. The edges went out first, starved of fuel, until only the center still burned: a single hot core that the crew could finally surround. By morning they had it contained, and the ridge was dark.