In this rugged account of a rugged profession, Matthew Desmond explores the heart and soul of the wildland firefighter. Having joined a firecrew in Northern Arizona as a young man, Desmond relates his experiences with intimate knowledge and native ease, adroitly balancing emotion with analysis and action with insight. On the Fireline shows that these firefighters aren’t the adrenaline junkies or romantic heroes as they’re so often portrayed. An immersion into a dangerous world, On the Fireline is also a sophisticated analysis of a high-risk profession—and a captivating read. “Gripping . . . a masterful account of how young men are able to face down wildfire, and why they volunteer for such an enterprise in the first place.”—David Grazian, Sociological Forum “Along with the risks and sorrow, Desmond also presents the humor and comaraderie of ordinary men performing extraordinary tasks. . . . A good complement to Norman Maclean's Young Men and Fire. Recommended.”—Library Journal
The true story behind the events that inspired the major motion picture Only the Brave. A "unique and bracing" (Booklist) first-person account by the sole survivor of Arizona's disastrous 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, which took the lives of 19 "hotshots" -- firefighters trained specifically to battle wildfires. Brendan McDonough was on the verge of becoming a hopeless, inveterate heroin addict when he, for the sake of his young daughter, decided to turn his life around. He enlisted in the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a team of elite firefighters based in Prescott, Arizona. Their leader, Eric Marsh, was in a desperate crunch after four hotshots left the unit, and perhaps seeing a glimmer of promise in the skinny would-be recruit, he took a chance on the unlikely McDonough, and the chance paid off. Despite the crew's skepticism, and thanks in large part to Marsh's firm but loving encouragement, McDonough unlocked a latent drive and dedication, going on to successfully battle a number of blazes and eventually win the confidence of the men he came to call his brothers. Then, on June 30, 2013, while McDonough -- "Donut" as he'd been dubbed by his team--served as lookout, they confronted a freak, 3,000-degree inferno in nearby Yarnell, Arizona. The relentless firestorm ultimately trapped his hotshot brothers, tragically killing all 19 of them within minutes. Nationwide, it was the greatest loss of firefighter lives since the 9/11 attacks. Granite Mountain is a gripping memoir that traces McDonough's story of finding his way out of the dead end of drugs, finding his purpose among the Granite Mountain Hotshots, and the minute-by-minute account of the fateful day he lost the very men who had saved him. A harrowing and redemptive tale of resilience in the face of tragedy, Granite Mountain is also a powerful reminder of the heroism of the people who put themselves in harm's way to protect us every day.
A dramatic, revelatory account of the female inmate firefighters who battle California wildfires. Shawna was overcome by the claustrophobia, the heat, the smoke, the fire, all just down the canyon and up the ravine. She was feeling the adrenaline, but also the terror of doing something for the first time. She knew how to run with a backpack; they had trained her physically. But that’s not training for flames. That’s not live fire. California’s fire season gets hotter, longer, and more extreme every year — fire season is now year-round. Of the thousands of firefighters who battle California’s blazes every year, roughly 30 percent of the on-the-ground wildland crews are inmates earning a dollar an hour. Approximately 200 of those firefighters are women serving on all-female crews. In Breathing Fire, Jaime Lowe expands on her revelatory work for The New York Times Magazine. She has spent years getting to know dozens of women who have participated in the fire camp program and spoken to captains, family and friends, correctional officers, and camp commanders. The result is a rare, illuminating look at how the fire camps actually operate — a story that encompasses California’s underlying catastrophes of climate change, economic disparity, and historical injustice, but also draws on deeply personal histories, relationships, desires, frustrations, and the emotional and physical intensity of firefighting. Lowe’s reporting is a groundbreaking investigation of the prison system, and an intimate portrayal of the women of California’s Correctional Camps who put their lives on the line, while imprisoned, to save a state in peril.
Linda Strader is one of the first women hired on a fire crew with the U.S. Forest Service. A naïve twenty-year-old in the mid-1970s, she discovers fighting wildfires is challenging--but in a man's world, they became only one of the challenges she would face. Battling fire is exhilarating, yet exhausting; the discrimination real and sometimes in her face. Summers of Fire is an Arizona to Alaska adventure story that honestly recounts the seven years Strader ventures into the heart of fires that scorch the land, vibrant friendships that fire the soul, and deep love that ends in devastating heartbreak.
In June of 2013, on summer break from my first year of college, I started a job as a wildland firefighter with the Highlands 20, an initial attack handcrew, based out of the Sinlahekin Valley in North Central Washington. I had never before thought of fighting wildfire, but my bank account was in dire straits and, truth be told, so was my ego. However, I didn't start that summer looking for personal growth, I started it with nineteen other men, each of us looking for a seasonal gig that paid well. I was already a man and thought that I knew quite a bit about myself, about the world at large. But as that summer, and that fire season progressed; I found out that I still had so much to learn; I was both a rookie to wildland firefighting and a rookie in life. Through the trials of day-to-day life on the fireline, living and fighting wildfire with my fire crew, through the adrenaline, the danger, the laughter, the smoke, the blisters, I came to understand that it was far more than a paycheck that I was earning. I was learning, for the first time in a long while, who I really was and what I was made of. I was proving my worth to the fire crew. I was proving my worth to myself. This book evolved out of experiences from my four summers of fighting wildfire as well as to a promise I made to my fellow Highlands 20 crewmembers. I promised them that I would write a book about wildland fire fighting. At the time I had no idea what that would entail. But I knew what it would not. It would not be a book about hero-izing the exploits of wildland firefighters. No, bullshitting the reader with portrayals of wildland firefighters as faultless demigods with the morals of saints, the work ethic of Navy SEALs, and the looks of A-list Hollywood actors was never my intention. I make no claim to have been a perfect wildland firefighter, or to have never felt fear when putting my life on the line in battles with Nature. I know for a fact that there are many other fire crews that saw more action and were in far greater danger than the Highlands 20 or I ever were. This book is by no means the definitive book about wildland firefighting. That book would be impossible to write, as every person who fought wildfire has their own experiences that vary greatly from my own. What I have found is that are no two fire seasons alike. And that my time spent on the fireline was a perfect balance of danger and laughter, of bravery and childlike awe, of crassness and brotherhood, of selflessness and evolution.State of Fire is neither an ultimate description of wildland firefighting nor a book of fire-filled heroism, so you might be asking then, what is its purpose? This is a book about wildland firefighting and the indelible marks it leaves on a person's soul. This book is about finding commonality by going through hardship with strangers, who soon become closer than family. It's about what can be learned from camaraderie, and what happens when you separate men from society and normalcy for months at a time. It's about love and loss, and the rebirth of one's self through the testing of mental, emotional, and physical strength. It is about coming to terms with one's limitations, and why challenges of every shade should not be shunned, but embraced. It is about finding meaning and worth, where once there was none. And most importantly, why these lessons were not only significant for me, but for everyone who picks up this book. This book represents - my path to, of, and away from wildland firefighting. It should be noted that State of Fire is a collection of nine essays. Each essay deals with a different aspect of wildland firefighting. Therefore it does not have to be read in chronological order, as each essay is independent of the next. To honor all wildland firefighters, especially those who have lost their lives on the job, I will be donating 10% of all books sold to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation (wffoundation.org).
One of the first women in the San Francisco Fire Department writes about what it's like to be a firefighter--the daily routine in the firehouse; the danger and thrills of risking her life fighting this elemental force--and tells readers what life is like for a woman in what has traditionally been a man's world.
The definitive account of one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history, which killed nineteen elite firefighters of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and also inspired the major motion picture Only the Brave. “A tear-jerking classic.”—Outside • Named One of the Best Books of the Year by Men’s Journal On June 28, 2013, a single bolt of lightning sparked an inferno that devoured more than eight thousand acres in northern Arizona. Twenty elite firefighters—the Granite Mountain Hotshots—walked together into the Yarnell Hill Fire, tools in their hands and emergency fire shelters on their hips. Only one of them walked out. An award-winning journalist and former wildland firefighter, Kyle Dickman brings to the story a professional’s understanding of how wildfires ignite, how they spread, and how they are fought. He understands hotshots and their culture: the pain and glory of a rough and vital job, the brotherly bonds born of dangerous work. Drawing on dozens of interviews with officials, families of the fallen, and the lone survivor, he describes in vivid detail what it’s like to stand inside a raging fire—and shows how the increased population and decreased water supply of the American West guarantee that many more young men will step into harm’s way in the coming years. Praise for On the Burning Edge “Dickman weaves a century of fire-management history into the fully realized stories of the men’s lives—the sweat, the adrenaline, the orange glow of fire within their aluminum shelters, and the chewing gum that hotshot Scott Norris left in the shower before telling his girlfriend, Heather, ‘I’ll take care of it later. I promise.’”—Outside “Dickman offers a riveting account of a dangerous occupation and acts of nature most violent—and those who face both down.”—Library Journal
