Overflow

of the woodland, struggling against extreme odds, traveling dangerous trails, fighting the many enemies of nature. This is the job of the guardian of the forest Ranger Bill. Pouring rain, freezing cold, blistering heat, snow, floods, bears, rattlesnakes, mountain lions. Yes, all this in exchange for the satisfaction and pride of a job well done.

Rain or rain? That's what we've been having at Nadi Pine the past few days. It's so wet most everything in town has slowed down. There's no danger of fire, and it's far too damp to get out and do our routine work in the forests, so the crews have been pulled in from the trails. What we need is a week or two of bright sunshine to dry us off.

Instead, we're getting rain, and it's a perfect setting for today's story. Overflow, high up in the mountains, sandwiched in between two jagged walls of the canyon, stands the big ridge dam. This dam holds in place the blue waters of big ridge lake.

the collecting point for the water flowing from the melting snows of the shady mountains. This water is held for irrigation use in the lower part of the state. It's here that our story begins. Hey, it's Lynn, emergency.

Take that pressure gauge. Right, Frank. How's she reading? Not so good. So good. Yeah, I thought all this rain and mountain would give us some trouble. That's not the word for it. What do we do?

Well, we've got a bit of time, yes. That's only the first sign that we're getting close to the danger point. But the trouble is that I stick my head out of here if it's clear and then all I can see is rain.