United States Wildfire Books
Recommended to learn about Wildfire.
Young Men and Fire is one of the classic US wildfire books I read long ago when I was a USFS Los Padres Hotshot wanting to understand smokejumping and the tragic Mann Gulch Fire of 1949 that claimed the lives of a large number of smokejumpers. This is a must read for those interested in learning about US Wildfires.
Fire On The Mountain is a study of the South Canyon Fire of 1994. This is another US wildfire classic key to understanding US wildfire management and I have personal connections to this event in being friends with many of the Hotshot Firefighters killed in this event, and being part of the first USFS smokejumper support booster in 1995 after this fire deployed to Grand Junction Colorado to assist the local BLM firefighting resources.
The Thirtymile Fire was a tragedy wildfire for the USFS and in its wake it had far reaching Federal wildfire management policy implications. This book is worthy of reading to understand better USFS fire policy.
The Esperanza Fire in 2006 claimed the lives of five USFS firefighters assigned to a wildland firefighting engine in California and John Maclean unpacks its story in this book, also a must read.
1953 the Rattlesnake Fire is another mass casualty wildfire in California that claimed the lives of fifteen firefighters and John Maclean retells its story in River Of Fire. This book is an important study in wildfire firefighter safety.
Stan Cohen’s classic Pictorial History of Smokejumping is great book to learn about the early history of smokejumping, and how it came to be in the United States.
Wildfire! is a wonderful children’s book written to explain US wildfires and is perfect for young readers interested in nature.
There has been a number of books written about smokejumping however the classic will always be Jumping Fire. This is a fiction work that is highly recommended to learn about what it is like to be a smokejumper.
Oral traditions and story telling around camp fires are an important element of being a smokejumper and there is no better book to read about some of this part of smokejumper culture than with Just a Few Jumper Stories.
