with little hope for survival. bill chappell is a retired forester with the u.s. forest service. for the past 15 years, he's piloted a hot air balloon modeled after smokey bear, the consummate symbol of fire prevention. >> it's a lot of fun. we all have a grand time doing it. it's a good excuse to be a kid again. and at the same time preventing fires. >> but during a 2004 flight at the albuquerque international balloon fiesta, ironically it's the friendly face of smokey bear at the center of a catastrophe. >> well, it was like any other day. it was the last day of the fiesta here. the weather was as predictable as it could be. they had predicted calm breezes, and that's the way it started. >> bill has two young passengers in his balloon, 14-year-old troy wells and 10-year-old aaron whitaker. >> on that particular morning,