Alastair Gee

So...having finished this the other evening, I went to bed thinking that maybe I'd just finished a book that was going to be a classic like Norman Maclean's "Young Men and Fire." The next day, I had to conclude that, no, as gripping as this work is, it's probably just journalism, not classic history. However, this is very good journalism, as the authors tell a poignant tale of the obliteration of a community, for which the chances of a worst-case scenario playing out was always high.

That might be the lesson here. At the time of the "Camp" Fire, the coverage made me wonder what the people on the ground were thinking. This book is illustrative of how the local folks were not naive about their circumstances, but no one, outside of a few professional firefighters, were actually thinking in terms of what the the real worst-case scenario could look like. To be fair, very few people can think in those terms, as in the face of the worst-case scenario, you're just doomed. That the human toll was not worse is a tribute to the planning that was done, and the heroism of the first responders.

As for the culpability of Pacific Gas & Electric, a running thread in this book, the authors don't push that to the hilt. However, as dubious as the past behavior of the corporate management might have been, the failure of their power lines is probably more a commentary on how while PG&E is too big to fail, it's also probably too big to really manage its assets. If one was going to be fair, obsolescent infrastructure inadequately maintained is a chronic problem in this country, exacerbated by sprawl.

Finally, as I'm writing this, the community around Lake Tahoe has just been saved from the "Caldor" Fire; disasters like this remain a threat into the future of what is now looking like the "Pyrocline." A new age of fire birthed by massive climate change.… (altro)

It was only a couple of years ago, in November, 2018, when the northern California town of Paradise was consumed by a raging wildfire. Over 13,000 homes were destroyed, 27,000 people struggled to escape with their lives, and at least 85 people died in the blaze. This is the story that journalists Alastair Gee and Dani Anguiano tell in their book "Fire in Paradise: An American Tragedy".

The authors describe a little of the history of the region going back to its roots in the Gold Rush days, and of physical characteristics of that part of California. They also explain why the prevailing high winds and dry climate often produce rapidly developing fires in the heavy underbrush which grows there. Additionally, they described how this particular fire was caused by a downed Pacific Gas & Electric power line which sparked and ignited the underbrush below. Once ignited, the brush burned and spread like no other, having been primed to burn by several consecutive years of extreme drought and ever increasing record-setting high temperatures.

Anguiano and Gee were also able to collect the stories of a number of impacted families and survivors of the fire. From those stories, the authors selected several, telling how each reacted from the time they may have first noticed smoke off in the distance to the time the fire quickly was upon them, how they decided to evacuate or not, and how when attempting to evacuate, the few roads leading out of the area quickly became blocked by fire, downed trees, and heavy traffic. For some, cars had to be abandoned, forcing them to flee on foot or try to be rescued by emergency teams. Others became trapped, and were among those lost to the fire.

I had listened to the book in audiobook format while I drove in my car, and thought the narrator, T. Ryder Smith, did an excellent job the way he described the scene, the chaos, the fear and desperation of the people, and especially the bravery and dedication of the emergency personnel and a number of the survivors themselves. This fire was so intense, so fast burning, it was something of unprecedented intensity, something firefighters had never witnessed before, and which was well beyond their capability to contain.

Having driven through the region less than a year after the fire, I saw for myself evidence of the scorched earth, blackened trees, and the few narrow roads through the area that served the people. That experience certainly heightened my awareness of the size and scope of the fire, but seeing the region is unnecessary. The book itself makes it all too clear just how terrifying and traumatic the fire was to the residents of Paradise.

It may be human nature to think that disasters such as the Paradise fire will never happen to us, but reading a book such as this is a good reminder that fires can develop quickly in any area, whether rural, wooded, urban, or industrial. So it's always imperative that people respect fire, take precautions, preplan, and practice their escape for any situation.… (altro)