Megafire : the race to extinguish a deadly epidemic of flame

A Journalist And Forest-fire Expert Shares His Experiences In Some Of The World's Most Dangerous And Remote Regions To Explore The Rising Phenomenon Of Large-scale Fires, The Damage They Cause, And How They Are Being Battled By Elite Firefighters. A Brilliant Exploration Of The Rising Phenomenon Of Megafires--forest Fires Of Alarming Scale, Intensity, And Devastation--that Explains The Science Of What Is Causing Them And Captures The Danger And Heroism Of Those Who Fight Them. In Megafire, A World-renowned Journalist And Forest Fire Expert Travels To The Most Dangerous And Remote Wildernesses, As Well As To The Backyards Of People Faced With These Catastrophic Conflagrations, To Look At The Heart Of This Phenomenon And Witness Firsthand The Heroic Efforts Of The Firefighters And Scientists Racing Against Time To Stop--or At Least To Tame--these Deadly Flames. From Colorado To California, China To Canada, The Narrative Hopscotches The Globe And Takes Readers To The Frontlines Of The Battle On The Ground And In The Air, And In The Laboratories, Universities, And Federal Agencies Where This Issue Of Rampant Wildfires And The Controversial Question Of How Best To Manage Them Rages On. Through This Prism Of Perspectives, Kodas Zeroes In On A Handful Of The Most Terrifying And Tumultuous Of These Environmental Disasters In Recent Years--the Yarnell Hill Fire In Arizona That Took The Lives Of Nineteen Elite Hotshot Firefighters, The Waldo Canyon Fire That Overwhelmed The City Of Colorado Springs--and More In A Page-turning Narrative That Puts A Face On The Brave People At The Heart Of This Issue. Megafire Describes The Profound Impact Of These Fires Around The World And Will Change The Way We Think About The Environment And The Essential Precariousness Of Our Planet.--jacket. Part I: Everybody's Hometown. Yarnell Hill ; Fuses And Bombs ; Prescott -- Part Ii: Our Greatest Ally, Our Fiercest Foe. Heartstrong ; Red Buffalo, Black Dragon ; Crazy Woman ; The Bigger Blowup -- Part Iii: The Crowded Forest. Mansions In The Slums ; The Blackline ; Slop-over ; Off To The Races ; Red Zones -- Part Iv: Turning Up The Heat. Playing With Fire ; Nuclear Frying Pan ; The Vanishing Forest ; The Fire-industrial Complex ; High Park ; Firebugs ; Forest Jihad -- Part V: Extended Attack. Mountain Shadows ; Firestorm ; Seeing Red ; Never Winter ; Black Forest ; Trickle Down -- Part Vi: Backfire. Frontier Days ; Defusing The Time Bomb ; The Doce ; Where The Desert Breeze Meets The Mountain Air ; The Perfect Firestorm ; Trigger Points ; Nineteen ; Blowback. Michael Kodas. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This bestselling author of High Crimes explores what causes forest fires and captures their danger and the heroism of those who fight them. In Megafire , a world-renowned journalist and forest fire expert travels to dangerous and remote wildernesses, as well as to the backyards of people faced with these catastrophes, to look at the heart of this phenomenon and witness firsthand the heroic efforts of the firefighters and scientists racing against time to stop it—or at least to tame these deadly flames. From Colorado to California, China to Canada, head to the frontlines on the ground and in the air, as well as in the laboratories, universities, and federal agencies where this battle rages on. Through this prism of perspectives, Kodas zeroes in on some of the most terrifying environmental disasters in recent years—the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona that took the lives of nineteen elite “hotshot” firefighters, the Waldo Canyon Fire that overwhelmed the city of Colorado Springs—and more in a page-turning narrative that puts a face on the brave people at the heart of this issue. Megafire describes the profound global impact of these fires and will change the way we think about the environment and the precariousness of our world. “I don't know any writer better equipped to explain what's gone wrong than Michael Kodas, who shines a light both on the astonishing bravery of the hotshots on the front lines and on the waste and ineptitude of the politicians and bureaucrats who too often fail them, sometimes with fatal consequences.” — Dan Fagin, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation A brilliant exploration of the rising phenomenon of megafires-forest fires of alarming scale, intensity, and devastation-that explains the science of what is causing them and captures the danger and heroism of those who fight them In Megafire, a world-renowned journalist and forest fire expert travels to the most dangerous and remote wildernesses, as well as to the backyards of people faced with these environmental disasters, to look at the heart of this phenomenon and witness firsthand the heroic efforts of the firefighters and scientists racing against time to stop it-or at least to tame these deadly flames. From Colorado to California, China to Canada, the narrative hopscotches the globe and takes readers to the frontlines of the battle both on the ground and in the air, and in the laboratories, universities, and federal agencies where this issue rages on. Through this prism of perspectives, Kodas zeroes in on a handful of the most terrifying and tumultuous of these environmental disasters in recent years-the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona that took the lives of nineteen elite "hotshot" firefighters, the Waldo Canyon Fire that overwhelmed the city of Colorado Springs-and more in a page-turning narrative that puts a face on the brave people at the heart of this issue. Megafire describes the profound impact of these fires around the earth and will change the way we think about the environment and the essential precariousness of our world A brilliant exploration of the rising phenomenon of megafires?forest fires of alarming scale, intensity, and devastation?that captures the danger and heroism of those who fight them In Megafire , a world-renowned journalist and forest fire expert travels to the most dangerous and remote wildernesses, as well as to the backyards of people faced with these environmental disasters, to look at the heart of this phenomenon and witness firsthand the heroic efforts of the firefighters and scientists racing against time to stop it?or at least to tame these deadly flames. From Colorado to California, China to Canada, the narrative hopscotches the globe and takes readers to the frontlines of the battle both on the ground and in the air, and in the laboratories, universities, and federal agencies where this issue rages on. Through this prism of perspectives, Kodas zeroes in on a handful of the most terrifying and tumultuous of these environmental disasters in recent years?the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona that took the lives of nineteen elite "hotshot" firefighters, the Waldo Canyon Fire that overwhelmed the city of Colorado Springs, the Black Saturday Fires that killed 173 Australians?and more in a page-turning narrative that puts a face on the brave people at the heart of this issue. Megafire will change the way we think about our environment and the essential precariousness of our world As forest fires continue to ravage communities, this bestselling author and firefighter explores what causes them, and captures the danger and heroism of those who fight them In Megafire, a world-renowned journalist and forest fire experttravels to the most dangerous and remote wildernesses, as well as to the backyards of people faced with these environmental disasters,to look at the heart of this phenomenon and witness firsthand the heroic efforts of the firefighters and scientists racing against time to stop itor at least to tame these deadly flames. From Colorado to California, China to Canada, the narrative hopscotches the globe and takes readers to the frontlines of the battle both on the ground and in the air, and in the laboratories, universities, and federal agencies where this issue rages on. Through this prism of perspectives, Kodas zeroes in on a handful of the most terrifying and tumultuous of these environmental disasters in recent yearsthe Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona that took the lives of nineteen elite hotshotfirefighters,the Waldo Canyon Fire that overwhelmed the city of Colorado Springsand more in a page-turning narrative that puts a face on the brave people at the heart of this issue. Megafire describes the profound impact of these fires around the earth and will change the way we think about the environment and the essential precariousness of our world. In Megafire, a world-renowned journalist and forest fire expert travels to the most dangerous and remote wildernesses, as well as to the backyards of people faced with these environmental disasters, to look at the heart of this phenomenon and witness firsthand the heroic efforts of the firefighters and scientists racing against time to stop it{u2014}or at least to tame these deadly flames