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Rugged terrain, rugged times, & rugged men, typify the organization & development of what is known today as the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Diversity of personalities, problems & circumstances even today permeate the organization & the 2,200 square miles under its protection. Literally from a seedling to a sophisticated organization of 2,800 employees from gunnysacks to helicopters for wildland fire suppression from ranch shacks to high rise buildings; from farmlands to commercial complexes, the Los Angeles County Fire Department represents perhaps the most complex & diversified fire service organization in the world. RIDE THE DEVIL WIND tells that story, with a generous supply of photographs, journal entries, & excerpts from official reports providing primary accounts of major area incidents, & their impact upon the fire service.