Overview

The author was embedded with one of the busiest wildfire crews in the United States Reveals wildfires through the experiences of the people who go face-to-face with them Focuses on challenges faced in Western states. Every year wildfires ravage forests, destroy communities, and devastate human lives, with only the bravery of dedicated firefighters creating a barrier against even greater destruction. Throughout the 2016 wildfire season, journalist Heather Hansen witnessed firsthand the heroics of the Station 8 crew in Boulder, Colorado. She tells that story here, layered with the added context of the history, science, landscape, and human behavior that, year-by-year, increases the severity, frequency, and costs of conflagrations in the West. She examines the changes in both mindset and activity around wildfires and tracks the movement from wildfire as something useful, to something feared, to something necessary but roundly dreaded. Wildfire shares the drama, hardships, and experiences of the firefighters who try, sometimes in vain, to prevent destruction when a spark flares out of control. Hansen tells the rich and frightening stories of the firefighters themselves and the challenges they face: a safety system struggling to keep up with fire seasons that are lengthening, fires that are becoming more extreme, and agencies that are struggling to cover the bills.

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9781680513394

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Reviews

[A] fascinating and topical new book.--Alison Gwinn Denver Life Magazine In the wake of this year's devastating West Coast blazes, Wildfire couldn't be more timely. Hansen embeds with a small crew of elite wildland firefighters as she guides us through the history, science, and human costs behind conflagrations and the challenges faced by the people working to protect us from this growing threat.--Rosa Furneaux Mother Jones In Wildfire, the journalist Heather Hansen embeds herself in an elite crew of wildland firefighters based in Boulder, Colorado.... Hansen learns and shares some fire science and fire history, filling in the background of the current crisis. She describes the crew's punishing training and their powerful camaraderie, and recounts their stories of fires fought, disasters survived, lessons learned.--William Finnegan New York Review of Books Journalist Heather Hansen uses the framework of the Cold Springs Fire, which broke out in July 2016 near her home in Nederland, Colorado, and her nearly two years embedded with Boulder's Station 8 as a framework for exploring the myriad factors--things like climate change, fire management practices, and urban sprawl--that have contributed to what feels like a near constant state of conflagration, while offering ideas for how we can turn this burning ship around.--Shawnte Salabert Outside This comprehensive and fascinating book concludes with a minute-by-minute account of the fight to contain a Colorado forest fire-it's a unique set piece, one that will help readers understand the skill required, and danger faced, by those who battle the increasing number of sever fires on our fast-warming planet.--Bill McKibben Wildfire is a primer on both wildfires and firefighting. Hansen mixes history with interviews and descriptions, and the book has a nice you-are-there feeling.... a book that defines the challenge of fighting the devastation that wildfires bring.--Sandra Dallas The Denver Post In Wildfire, Heather Hansen's lively reportage.....[and] expertly deconstructed insights come together in a taut final chapter that chronicles the July 2016 [Boulder, Co.] Cold Springs fire. This thoughtful book answers some questions about mitigating human and environmental effects but also warns of political and economic roadblocks. As Station 8 knows well, wildfire is an inevitable and natural occurrence, and we must develop better funding and policies to deal with it. --Rachel Jagareski Foreword Reviews Wildfire is a remarkable piece of immersive journalism. Hansen does wonderful work weaving an intimate portrait of the wildland firefighters of Boulder's Station 8 into an exploration of the evolving history and science of how human society interacts with wildfire. An excellent and entertaining book at a critical time in the relationship between humans and fire.--Peter Heller Author of The Dog Stars and Celine

Author Information

Heather Hansen is an award-winning reporter, specializing in environmental and travel writing. She is the author of Wildfire: On the Front Lines with Station 8, and her work has appeared in High Country News, National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, Outside, Mountain Gazette, and others. She splits her time between Boulder, Colorado, and Cambridge, UK. Follow her online at heather-hansen.com.

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