Bill knew that the radio operator would immediately send word to the foresters waiting at Elam and Adler that the plane was on its way. He turned his plane to skirt Buck Peak and then crossed Beaver Creek. Here he saw the first of the fires, which were still burning and which circumstantial evidence indicated had been lighted by the firebug. Beaver Creek had proved too great a natural barrier for the fire to cross. To the south and southwest there was nothing to check its path, and it had spread rapidly in that direction. The fight made by the crew on the ground to bar its progress was clearly shown from the scene of desolation extending below them.