Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout

I’ve just finished reading “Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout”, by Philip Connors, and highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the American West and/or wilderness.

At times it’s a little maudlin, but overall, a great look at the pivotal role fire has played in the history of the West, as well as touching on Native American, pioneer, firefighter, government, and military issues and history.

I picked it up on a whim in Yellowstone, the first day Laura Anne Gilman​ and I were in the park. We’d gone into the store to get our passes, and I was just barely musing on a project I didn’t intend to work on for a while. I saw this book, vaguely decided to add it to my to-read list, and didn’t particularly think anything more of it.

I couldn’t have found a better launching point for the project, and will be endeavoring to get in touch with the author for an interview as part of my research. In particular, his touching on the link between the firefighting industry and the military was the exact resource I needed.