Fire in Paradise

Gee and Anguiano's on-the-ground reporting from California's deadliest wildfire is so riveting and evocative that you can almost smell the smoke--not just from the oaks and pines, but from all the scorched vinyl-sided homes, melted car tires, and exploding propane tanks. Their account of how a city of 27,000 burned to the ground in a matter of hours reads like a thriller--full of daring escapes, life-saving heroics, staggering loss of life, and bad actors. It's also crucial. As the world warms, cities across the arid West are increasingly at risk of suffering a fate similar to Paradise.--Dan Egan, author of The Death and Life of the Great Lakes The Paradise fire will stay in our collective memory; like Hurricane Katrina, it was a landmark moment in coming to see the changes that we've wrought by shifting our climate. This remarkable account will drive home the human cost, as well as remind you of the power of the human spirit, even, or especially, in a crisis.--Bill McKibben, author of Falter A gripping and meticulously reported account of how one California community was wiped from the map, and a terrifying bellwether of the mounting personal costs of the world's climate emergency.--Adam Higginbotham, author of Midnight in Chernobyl Fire in Paradise is the detailed reportage of people suddenly caught in a catastrophe that is spreading worldwide wherever there are forests--uncontrollable wildfire. This is a frightening book that will make readers take stock of their own home surroundings, regional infrastructure, and the values of our times.--Annie Proulx, author of Barkskins Fire in Paradise is not only a riveting narrative of the unprecedented but long-predicted disaster of the Camp Fire and the tragedy it wrought on a California town, but a thorough analysis of the histories that led to the disaster, a detailed look at its continuing consequences, and a glimpse of the harrowing, fiery future that western communities face.--Michael Kodas, author of Megafire Fire in Paradise is the detailed reportage of people suddenly caught in a catastrophe that is spreading worldwide wherever there are forests--uncontrollable wildfire. This is a frightening book that will make readers take stock of their own home surroundings, regional infrastructure, and the values of our times.--Annie Proulx, author of Barkskins Fire in Paradise is not only a riveting narrative of the unprecedented but long-predicted disaster of the Camp Fire and the tragedy it wrought on a California town, but a thorough analysis of the histories that led to the disaster, a detailed look at its continuing consequences, and a glimpse of the harrowing, fiery future that western communities face.--Michael Kodas, author of Megafire