Fire (1977)

Directed by Earl Bellamy
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Another cookie-cutter, made-for-TV Irwin Allen disaster movie. There is the usual assortment of characters facing a raging forest fire as well as their personal problems. Ernest Borgnine is the good-natured owner of a lumber mill who readily places himself in danger to help others. He is in love with the owner of a vacation lodge, which is threatened by the fire. A group of school children are taking refuge at the lodge as well. One of them is missing in the woods in the middle of the fire. A married couple, also doctors, are bickering and considering divorce, but when pressed into duty discover they love each other after all. The fire is the big show, and it is a clever mix of stock footage and staged re-creations.