Fire and ashes : on the front lines of American wildfire / John N. Maclean.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Maclean, John N.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wildfires--United States--Prevention and control.

Wildfires.

Fire ecology.

United States.

Fire ecology--United States.

Physical Description:

xi, 238 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : H. Holt, 2003.

Summary:

In 2002, more than seven million acres were burned, at a firefighting cost of over a billion dollars. Are huge wilderness fires now an enduring feature of the American landscape? John N. Maclean, the author of the acclaimed Fire on the Mountain, offers a view from the front lines, combining action-packed storytelling with moving insights about firefighters and informed analysis of firefighting strategy past and present. Beginning with a riveting account of the worst case of arson in wildfire history -- the 1953 Rattlesnake Fire in Mendocino National Forest, which claimed the lives of fifteen firefighters -- Maclean explains the mysterious dynamics of fire, and the courage and techniques required to combat it. One such mystery examined is the life-threatening 1999 Sadler Fire in Nevada, when a line of flames suddenly blew up and trapped six firefighters mistakenly placed in harm's way. And finally, Maclean returns to Mann Gulch, the site of his father's classic Young Men and Fire, to interview the last survivor of the worst disaster in the history of smoke jumping, illustrating how fatal fires continue to burn in the hearts and minds of firefighters for generations.

New settlements on the edges of wilderness have expanded the map of fire country and extended the season to twelve months of danger, stretching across the country from Florida to California. As the dangers increase so do the inevitable conflicts among property owners, environmentalists, and firefighters. While evenhandedly addressing all interests, Maclean shows what can be done to reduce unnecessary risks while also protecting the nation's grasslands and forests, which require fire for their renewal. Fire and Ashes presents a riveting and emotional story, one that in many ways John Maclean was destined to tell.

Contents:

1. The Arsonist, the Watch, and the Rattlesnake Fire, 1953 9

2. The Ghost of Storm King 101

3. The Last Survivor 175

4. A Short History of Wildland Fire 193.

Notes:

"A John Macrae book."

ISBN:

0805072128

OCLC:

50761311

Online:

Publisher description