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‘Firewatcher’ is the rarely told, and often war censored, story of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s many strategies and secrets to burn down the forests of the Pacific Northwest during WWII.

This story follows the journey of headstrong and curious Ruth Nelson. Despite her family’s objections and upon her early graduation from high school, she is determined to do her part for the war effort and schemes her way into the fire towers of the Tillamook County Forest. Here, Ruth and fellow Firewatchers, learn patience, courage and a willingness to endure lonely summer months in the woods, with only wild animals and solitude as their companions. These were a special breed of brave men and women, who manned the tall lookout towers with binoculars, ingenuity and a healthy fear of smoke and lightning. Ruth quickly learns that conditions could turn dangerous in a heartbeat. A burning forest was no place for the faint of heart without an escape plan. Could she endure this time of uncertainty? With war jitters rampant, the beach was blacked out at night, with whispers of invading Japanese soldiers during the day and with only paper-thin American defenses. What could this small band of Firewatchers do to help protect the Tillamook forests from the unexpected Japanese pineapples that floated down from the skies? These were terrifying times for Firewatchers and the forests they pledged to defend. It became even more terrifying and complicated, when Ruth discovers a Japanese dead body.

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