Everything is going well at Cal Fire and Three Rock. Bode and Gabriela have a thing going on, although they have decided to wait till Bode’s sentence is over. Bode has also been matched as a donor for his mother, Sharon. Jake, too, seems to have gotten involved with Cara. Manny is doing overtime so that he can earn better and get himself a house. Meanwhile, he is staying with the Leones. But when a protest leads to a forest fire, all of them have to put their comforts aside and do what they do best: save lives.
Spoilers Ahead
The Protest
Neil Wallace is the owner of a Housing and Development firm that is going to build condos by cutting down trees. An event has been organized near the location, and the locals are against it and are having a non-violent protest there. Members of Cal Fire Station 42, Jake, Eve, and probie Collin, are also present there in case there is any mishap. Eve tells Jake that if Bode donates his kidney to his mom, he won’t be able to return to Three Rock and will be sent back to prison for the rest of his sentence for recovery. As they both talk about it, one of the protestors throws a Molotov cocktail at the makeshift office of Neil Wallace, and it goes up in flames. Collin immediately rushes and hands Eve and Jake fire extinguishers, using which they put out the fire.
Back at Three Rock, Manny and the others celebrate Bode’s birthday. Bode tells Manny that he has passed the donor psych evaluation. This means he is one step closer to being greenlit to donate his kidney to his mom. Manny is glad about it. Bode tells him that he needs to tell his daughter Gabriela that he is trying to improve, but Manny answers that he isn’t prepared for it yet. Meanwhile, at the Leones, Sharon and Vince have French toast to celebrate Bode’s birthday. Sharon asks Vince to have a picture clicked for Neil in return for a large amount of money he has promised to donate to Cal Fire Station 42 and its upgrade. The money will help the crew a lot, although it means that they have approved Neil’s project, which involves cutting down trees. Vince agrees.
Eve, Jake, and Gabriela are at the station having a casual conversation about their love lives. While Gabriela encourages Jake to go ahead with Cara if he feels that way about her, Eve makes it clear that, at present, her career is her only target.
The Fire
Vince arrives at the location of the event and shakes hands with Neil Wallace. A few minutes later, someone screams “fire,” and Vince finds out that it is Wallace’s car that is burning. While Wallace believes that it is just another attack like the one involving Molotov, Vince knows better. Wallace’s car has been running for an hour, which has let the dry grass under it catch fire, thanks to the catalytic converter, responsible for turning toxic gases from the combustion engine into less-toxic gases, that has been running hot and has thus ignited the dry grass. Vince radios for backup. The vehicle is covered in flames, and the fire is spreading to the bushes and the trees fast. Very soon, Eve, Jake, Gabriela, and Collin arrive in a fire engine. While Eve, Gabriela, and Collin help with the pump, Vince and Jake head into the forest to evacuate the protestors there. Soon enough, Three Rock arrives at the spot too. Sharon has also arrived to overlook the entire operation and sends Manny and his men to assist Vince in the forest. Sharon offers Eve a chance to help her with Incident Command. In other words, shadow the Division Chief. Eve gladly agrees.
Vince and Jake reach the spot where the condos will be built. There is lumber and machinery spread out, along with the protestors shouting slogans. The two try to make the protestors understand that they need to leave and ask them to look up for “encouragement.” When people see black smoke, they realize the gravity of the situation and decide to leave. However, one of them, Tatum Morgan, has literally locked herself to a tree using a custom device made out of bolts, wiring, and mesh, that she has built. Unfortunately, she cannot get her hands out of it and is stuck. With the fire approaching, Vince calls for extrication tools. Eve, shadowing for Sharon, sends Gabriela and Collin with a med bag and other necessary tools. She then tells another probie to ensure that Wallace’s car is fully extinguished. The very next moment, the car reignites.
The Match
Back in the forest, as Vince and Jake try to take off one layer after another from Tatum’s device, Jake reveals to Vince that he is also a match for Sharon and asks Vince to let him donate instead of Bode. Unbeknownst to him, Bode and the others of Three Rock have already arrived at the spot, and Bode overhears Jake and tells him to stop going behind his back. Jake tries to make him understand, and it’s about to turn into an argument when Vince orders them all to get to work and settle their differences later. Three Rock is told to cut a line around the machinery and the lumber. Meanwhile, Gabriela and Collin have arrived with the equipment and med bag, and Vince and Jake resume their work on freeing Tatum. Gabriela has noticed what had just happened, even if a little bit, and asks Bode about it. He tells her that if the board finds out that Jake is a match, then it will pick him as the donor and not Bode. Unlike Bode, Jake has never been on drugs, and nor is he in prison.
Back at Wallace’s car, Eve, following Sharon’s orders to delegate, tries to maneuver a team of probies into putting out the fire. However, it is clear that she, too, wants to be involved rather than tell others what to do. That’s when Wallace approaches Sharon and tells her that if she can’t protect his condos, then she will lose the donation. All this is being recorded by the protestors, and Sharon reminds Wallace that yelling at a firefighter wouldn’t be useful if he wants Cal Fire’s approval for the project. Wallace shuts his mouth and walks away.
The Rescue
Jake and Vince start working on Tatum’s device while Three Rock and the Probies cut a line. During one such moment, Gabriela feels a burn on her neck. Bode looks up and notices embers flying in the air, and before he can react, some of them fall on the pieces of lumber that then catch fire. Three Rock starts putting mud on the lumber. Vince radios Sharon for a hose. Eve decides to assist Vince as well and takes a probie along, telling Sharon that she doesn’t want to be Incident Command. Sharon understands that Eve is better with a hands-on approach. She then requests an airdrop. Dispatcher confirms that the drop is 30 mins out. Eve and the probie arrive at Vince’s location with the water hose and get to work. They have approximately 10 mins before the area gets covered with ground fire. This means Jake has to get Tatum out within 5 minutes maximum.
‘Fire Country’ Episode 13: Ending Explained – Does Cal Fire Save The Trees?
The sun has set. Vince orders everyone to get ready to move out of the area before ground fire eats up the whole place. Tatum is concerned about the trees that will catch fire and keeps on telling the firefighters about it. Bode offers the idea of wrapping the trunks of the trees in the immediate vicinity with fire blankets. The fire is close to the ground, so there are chances it will pass by low without being able to burn the trunks. Jake decides to go with the idea. Three Rock members start wrapping the trunks with the blankets. That’s when they notice that the tree Tatum is attached to has also caught fire at the top. Jake and Vince ultimately manage to get Tatum out of the device and free. Then, in the absence of enough resources to put out the fire, all of them rush out of the area. Bode apologizes to Tatum for not being able to save the trees herself. Tatum thanks Bode and tells him it isn’t about who saves the trees but the safety of the trees that matters. No sooner do the teams come out of the forest than the water drop copter arrives. Sharon brings Wallace to Tatum and her fellow protestors, to whom he apologizes and agrees to a more sustainable way out. Eve approaches Bode and tells him that Jake just wanted to help him and Sharon. She also wishes him a happy birthday. Gabriela overhears it and decides to surprise Bode.
Later that night, Gabriela and Eve take chicken to Three Rock camp to celebrate Bode’s birthday. Vince and Sharon, too, decide to surprise their son, but when they arrive at the camp, they see from a distance that the three friends are having a great time. They decide to return home and let Bode enjoy his birthday with his friends. Jake arrives a little later and Bode decides to talk to him alone. Manny arrives and tells Gabriela about his situation and how he is trying to find stability. Gabriela is glad to see her father trying to be better. Away from them, Jake tells Bode that he doesn’t want him to get back to prison. Everyone, especially Jake, is glad to have Bode. Bode realizes that his mother receiving the kidney and getting better is all that matters. It doesn’t matter who the donor is. Moreover, compromising all the progress he has made by going back to prison is out of the question. Jake and Bode finally hug it out after so long.
Relationships are getting better at Cal Fire, and bonds are thus getting stronger. As long as this remains, Cal Fire will keep on doing its job for the people of Edgewater. It waits to be seen what next assignment lies ahead of them.
