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Firestorm: How Wildfire Will Shape Our Future
"Frightening... Firestorm comes alive when Struzik discusses the work of offbeat scientists." — New York Times Book Review
"Comprehensive and compelling." — Booklist
"A powerful message." — Kirkus
"Should be required reading." — Library Journal
For two months in the spring of 2016, the world watched as wildfire ravaged the Canadian town of Fort McMurray. Firefighters named the fire “the Beast.” It acted like a mythical animal, alive with destructive energy, and they hoped never to see anything like it again. Yet it’s not a stretch to imagine we will all soon live in a world in which fires like the Beast are commonplace. A glance at international headlines shows a remarkable increase in higher temperatures, stronger winds, and drier lands– a trifecta for igniting wildfires like we’ve rarely seen before.
This change is particularly noticeable in the northern forests of the United States and Canada. These forests require fire to maintain healthy ecosystems, but as the human population grows, and as changes in climate, animal and insect species, and disease cause further destabilization, wildfires have turned into a potentially uncontrollable threat to human lives and livelihoods.
Our understanding of the role fire plays in healthy forests has come a long way in the past century. Despite this, we are not prepared to deal with an escalation of fire during periods of intense drought and shorter winters, earlier springs, potentially more lightning strikes and hotter summers. There is too much fuel on the ground, too many people and assets to protect, and no plan in place to deal with these challenges.
In Firestorm , journalist Edward Struzik visits scorched earth from Alaska to Maine, and introduces the scientists, firefighters, and resource managers making the case for a radically different approach to managing wildfire in the 21st century. Wildfires can no longer be treated as avoidable events because the risk and dangers are becoming too great and costly. Struzik weaves a heart-pumping narrative of science, economics, politics, and human determination and points to the ways that we, and the wilder inhabitants of the forests around our cities and towns, might yet flourish in an age of growing megafires.
"Comprehensive and compelling." — Booklist
"A powerful message." — Kirkus
"Should be required reading." — Library Journal
For two months in the spring of 2016, the world watched as wildfire ravaged the Canadian town of Fort McMurray. Firefighters named the fire “the Beast.” It acted like a mythical animal, alive with destructive energy, and they hoped never to see anything like it again. Yet it’s not a stretch to imagine we will all soon live in a world in which fires like the Beast are commonplace. A glance at international headlines shows a remarkable increase in higher temperatures, stronger winds, and drier lands– a trifecta for igniting wildfires like we’ve rarely seen before.
This change is particularly noticeable in the northern forests of the United States and Canada. These forests require fire to maintain healthy ecosystems, but as the human population grows, and as changes in climate, animal and insect species, and disease cause further destabilization, wildfires have turned into a potentially uncontrollable threat to human lives and livelihoods.
Our understanding of the role fire plays in healthy forests has come a long way in the past century. Despite this, we are not prepared to deal with an escalation of fire during periods of intense drought and shorter winters, earlier springs, potentially more lightning strikes and hotter summers. There is too much fuel on the ground, too many people and assets to protect, and no plan in place to deal with these challenges.
In Firestorm , journalist Edward Struzik visits scorched earth from Alaska to Maine, and introduces the scientists, firefighters, and resource managers making the case for a radically different approach to managing wildfire in the 21st century. Wildfires can no longer be treated as avoidable events because the risk and dangers are becoming too great and costly. Struzik weaves a heart-pumping narrative of science, economics, politics, and human determination and points to the ways that we, and the wilder inhabitants of the forests around our cities and towns, might yet flourish in an age of growing megafires.
272 pages, Paperback
Published September 5, 2019
44 people are currently reading
331 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 29, 2018
I learned quite a bit, which I always appreciate, but there were times when it felt a bit repetitive. A good resource if you want an overview of wild fires and how they're shaped by climate change and politics (from a North American perspective).
February 20, 2019
Firestorm can be read as a book in three parts (though it is not technically divided this way). The first third of the book gives a harrowing account of the 2016 Ft. McMurray wildfire, which turned out to be Canada's costliest natural disaster. Struzik takes us into a fascinating minute-by-minute account of firefighters struggling to manage a fire unlike anything they've seen before; his well-researched account is quite likely the first to tie in so many perspectives, including local authorities, residents, and firefighters from other regions who were called to the scene.
The next part of the book traces how we've gotten to a point where such extreme fires are becoming more and more frequent - a product of climate change and a legacy of fire suppression in the Western US and Canada. This part of the book covers an impressive range of science and fire management history, as Struzik travels everywhere from the Pine Barrens in New Jersey to the boreal forests of the Yukon and Alaska to understand how much of the continent has been left a tinderbox, especially dangerous in an age where more people are "living, working, and recreating" in these forests.
The third part of the book takes a deeper dive into the surprising vulnerability of the Arctic to wildfire. Even in the land of tundra and permafrost, changing environmental conditions have made this ecosystem vulnerable to fires that span multiple seasons, carrying consequences for wildlife, carbon emissions, and dispersal of toxins e.g. mercury that have accumulated in the region.
Overall, Struzik offers an extremely well-researched account of how the nature of wildfires are changing, and the new challenges faced by wildlife, ecologists, fire managers. There are parts of the book that feel repetitive - we get re-introduced to some of the same experts at multiple points in the book, and Struzik likes to rely on certain phrases e.g. "living, working, and recreating in forests" that seem to appear multiple times a chapter. One other minor quibble is that he seems to leave out much of the discussion around what is driving human settlements deeper and deeper into the forests, and how we might stop this trend. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good combination of accessible science, policy, and history to understand a growing issue for much of North America.
The next part of the book traces how we've gotten to a point where such extreme fires are becoming more and more frequent - a product of climate change and a legacy of fire suppression in the Western US and Canada. This part of the book covers an impressive range of science and fire management history, as Struzik travels everywhere from the Pine Barrens in New Jersey to the boreal forests of the Yukon and Alaska to understand how much of the continent has been left a tinderbox, especially dangerous in an age where more people are "living, working, and recreating" in these forests.
The third part of the book takes a deeper dive into the surprising vulnerability of the Arctic to wildfire. Even in the land of tundra and permafrost, changing environmental conditions have made this ecosystem vulnerable to fires that span multiple seasons, carrying consequences for wildlife, carbon emissions, and dispersal of toxins e.g. mercury that have accumulated in the region.
Overall, Struzik offers an extremely well-researched account of how the nature of wildfires are changing, and the new challenges faced by wildlife, ecologists, fire managers. There are parts of the book that feel repetitive - we get re-introduced to some of the same experts at multiple points in the book, and Struzik likes to rely on certain phrases e.g. "living, working, and recreating in forests" that seem to appear multiple times a chapter. One other minor quibble is that he seems to leave out much of the discussion around what is driving human settlements deeper and deeper into the forests, and how we might stop this trend. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good combination of accessible science, policy, and history to understand a growing issue for much of North America.
March 16, 2026
We know that the planet we inhabit is in constant change. There were woolly mammoths in the Arctic, and the tops of our pressure-ridge mountains have fossils of sea creatures, showing evidence that they were all underwater at one time. Whatever changes are taking place now are, for the most part, imperceptible to us.
However, one change we are seeing is the size and intensity of forest fires. To quote a remark on the book jacket that the author is “…making a case for a radically different approach to managing wildfire…” and we “…must begin by acknowledging that fire is unavoidable and be much more prepared to cope when we cannot completely control the flames”.
I saw the title of this book, “Fire Storm,” in my local public library. I have been very curious about what is happening with our forest and the massive fires we are witnessing. The author, Edward Struzik, does a good job of describing the magnitude and force of huge fires.
He starts his book by describing the 2016 Fort McMurray fire, also known as “The Beast”. Miraculously, no one died in this fire as the town was being evacuated on highways lined with trees on fire from trunk to peak.
His research is very thorough and informative. I do not pretend to grasp all the information. However, I did learn that forest fires can be beneficial to the land and animals of the forest. He does talk about prescribed burns, noting that many conditions require that kind of fire to be contained. The result of controlled fires is that they promote “biodiversity”. Not all fires are “ecological disasters”. He states that most fires are allowed to burn in the large forests if they do not pose a danger to humans.
If you are intrigued by forest fires and have questions such as why some fires are so massive and intense, what role timber harvesting plays, what is happening in the Arctic where fires are burning underground, and other questions, I highly recommend you read this book.
However, one change we are seeing is the size and intensity of forest fires. To quote a remark on the book jacket that the author is “…making a case for a radically different approach to managing wildfire…” and we “…must begin by acknowledging that fire is unavoidable and be much more prepared to cope when we cannot completely control the flames”.
I saw the title of this book, “Fire Storm,” in my local public library. I have been very curious about what is happening with our forest and the massive fires we are witnessing. The author, Edward Struzik, does a good job of describing the magnitude and force of huge fires.
He starts his book by describing the 2016 Fort McMurray fire, also known as “The Beast”. Miraculously, no one died in this fire as the town was being evacuated on highways lined with trees on fire from trunk to peak.
His research is very thorough and informative. I do not pretend to grasp all the information. However, I did learn that forest fires can be beneficial to the land and animals of the forest. He does talk about prescribed burns, noting that many conditions require that kind of fire to be contained. The result of controlled fires is that they promote “biodiversity”. Not all fires are “ecological disasters”. He states that most fires are allowed to burn in the large forests if they do not pose a danger to humans.
If you are intrigued by forest fires and have questions such as why some fires are so massive and intense, what role timber harvesting plays, what is happening in the Arctic where fires are burning underground, and other questions, I highly recommend you read this book.
August 25, 2018
Book is dedicated to First Nations for our failure to view wildfire the way they once did. Indigenous people used to do controlled burns to promote the growth of wild berries, attract wildlife, to clear the trees, and to get firewood supplies. Now politicians and the public oppose this practice. Instead we let forest mature which makes them vulnerable to insects )eg.Mountain pine beetle) disease, and wildfires (Fort McMurray to worst so far). The current policy in Canada is fire suppression.
Well over 50% of fires are human caused. Parks Canada primary mandate is to open up the forests for recreation hence encouraging more fires. In the future, the authors and all experts predict that fires will burn bigger, faster, hotter, and more often because summers are warmer and last for longer periods (climate change is happening), and more drought conditions.
Controlled burns are necessary. Helicopters and water buckets cannot put out a big fire, they can only steer the fire away from where it can do harm to people and structures.
Well over 50% of fires are human caused. Parks Canada primary mandate is to open up the forests for recreation hence encouraging more fires. In the future, the authors and all experts predict that fires will burn bigger, faster, hotter, and more often because summers are warmer and last for longer periods (climate change is happening), and more drought conditions.
Controlled burns are necessary. Helicopters and water buckets cannot put out a big fire, they can only steer the fire away from where it can do harm to people and structures.
October 13, 2018
I've always been a bit fascinated by fire, maybe because my dad was a firefighter, but maybe also simply because it's fascinating. Wildfire in particular is one of the more misunderstood aspects of ecosystem ecology and management, at least by the general public these days. I really enjoyed reading about the history of wildfire and forest management in North America. I also learned quite a few things I didn't know, like the historical fire strategies of Native Americans and the First Nations. Even as a wildlife biologist, I didn't know all the ins and outs of fire influences. It was interesting to read how things like mercury that are stored in soils and peats get released during a fire, move across the continent in the smoke, and are deposited elsewhere and all the after effects of that. It's such a complex system and I definitely learned a lot and enjoyed the journey.
November 1, 2019
For anyone interested in climate, watershed, wildlife, fisheries and wildfire management, this is a must read. Wildfire will be a chief agent of change for much of the landscape and environment of much of the world as we enter into this reality of climate change. It will change the air we breathe, the water we drink, where we live and how we live. This book is a well written comprehensive look at wildfire, especially the increase number of mega-fires we've been and will continue to experience.
The first few chapters are the best in depth analysis of what happened with the infamous Fort McMurray Fire (The Horse Fire) of 2016, from how the fire started to how it was fought, the miracle that no one died directly from the fire, and the aftermath and lessons learned. Again, a must read!
The first few chapters are the best in depth analysis of what happened with the infamous Fort McMurray Fire (The Horse Fire) of 2016, from how the fire started to how it was fought, the miracle that no one died directly from the fire, and the aftermath and lessons learned. Again, a must read!
March 3, 2019
However, the science and the revelations of fire ecology and how it is evolving across the globe. A required read if you want to understand the change to our forests and the role fire ecology plays in the changing of the worlds forests. Very verifiable facts and explains our historical and sometimes wrong attitudes to the notion of forest fire over the past 150 years. While much of the examples are from North America the book points out how this is a global change driven by climate and an emerging and different ecology. At times the book is a bit plodding, however the education is worth the read.
February 4, 2020
I'm doing BookRiot's 2020 reading challenge, and one of the items is a book about a natural disaster. I choose this book because, although it's about wildfire in general, it spends a lot of time on the 2016 Horse River fire that destroyed several homes and threatened many lives in Fort McMurray. I highly recommend this to anyone living in a region affected by forest fires. Struzik is an excellent writer, and though the cast of characters gets a bit confusing in places, he communicates the science really clearly. Wildfire isn't on the radar of most urban Canadians; it absolutely should be.
July 29, 2025
this book was great. I’m really liking the format of nonfiction research in paperback novel form, they’re just so easy to read and full of so much information. this one was great. what stood out to me most was reading about the impact of land, soil, altitude, and wind on drought and wildfire risk factors. i also enjoyed how the author very clearly explained how human activity is exacerbating climate crises. i felt that the points he made were factual and felt more impassioned about wildlife, the climate, and ecosystem health after reading this book.
July 9, 2018
This was an informative overview of the wildfire situation in North America. Broken down into chapters that are each their own essay (which leads to a fair amount of repetition), the chapters can be read in isolation. Gained a good insight into some of the problems in my own area and what fire management officials and organizations are facing. It is certainly anger-inducing to read how much the government has failed its people in the name of capitalism.
September 13, 2020
Outstanding research and lots of great stories. This book changed the way I think about wildfires in relation to climate change. I am writing this review two years after reading the book, because it haunts me sitting here immersed in unhealthy levels of p 2.5 from wildfires raging in Washington and Oregon. This is a great read if you want to understand the important ways in which climate fires are different from old-fashioned wildfires.
August 1, 2020
Informative and well written. I have a degree in forestry and have been fighting wildfire in northern Alberta for 5 years now and this book echos allot of what I see, and have been taught. I also learned a fair amount from this book. It is well cited, in many cases Proffesors from the forestry program at the U of A. It reads like a journal article at times, but overall is highly readable.
February 4, 2021
This book is a must read if you are concerned at all about our warming planet. It is well written, keeps your attention through out and leaves you more informed about the changing world in which we live. The authour not only highlights the problem but also explains the cause and lays out our future if we fail to act.
July 6, 2021
I learned so much from this book, just as I had hoped. One of the most surprising and disturbing ones relates to the vermiculite mining, though. I had no idea of the damage that created and the further damage created when a wildfire hit it. Thank you for taking the time to get me oriented in Canada and see how the fire behaves.
October 22, 2020
The story of fires in North America have got more this one is the story about a Canadian fire storm became very serous .
Also there is much info about fires on the farther north Alaska and northern forests. Very good read
Also there is much info about fires on the farther north Alaska and northern forests. Very good read
February 10, 2018
After the wildfires of 2017 in California, this book expanded my understanding of the startling frequency and extent of big fires in North America. As the climate dries, the fires grow.
March 11, 2018
Well-researched and put together.
July 27, 2018
Really interesting, and a lot of information. It’s focused a little more on Canada than the US, but it’s still an interesting view into fire, and climate change.
September 22, 2018
Largely because I knew so little about this topic, I really enjoyed this and learned an enormous amount.
January 9, 2022
XXXXX
Warning! Wildfires are burning bigger, hotter, faster, and more often than in the past!!
XXXXX
“Without a new, evolving plan and the resources that are needed to deal with the new paradigm unfolding in the northern forests, year-round and runaway fire seasons will overtake our ability to manage forests in a way that serves our best interests…the chapters that follow attempt to create a clear-eyed look at the challenges we face…
Contending with the challenge of wildfire and the risks [associated with it] is not for the faint of heart. We can only find hope, however, in understanding the problems we face in figuring out how to live with wildfires.”
The above quote (in italics) comes from the introduction of this VERY informative book by Edward Struzik. Struzik is an award-winning writer and photographer. He is a Fellow at the Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen’s University (in Kingston. Ontario, Canada). Notably, Struzik has been granted the Fleming Medal, awarded for outstanding contributions to the understanding of science.
A firestorm is a big, destructive fire (or conflagration) which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is created during some of the largest wildfires.
A wildfire (or wildland fire) is a fire in an area of combustible vegetation that occurs in a rural area or the countryside.
This extremely, well-written book presents wildfire science that leaves room for little doubt about the hazards wildfires represent. It chronicles numerous raging wildfires of the past, starting with the 2016 megafire in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada., “the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history, and one of most destructive North American wildfires in modern times.”
In addition, the author examines how climate change figures into wildfires and reviews present wildfire policies.
In his research, the author traveled widely, especially in Canada and the American Northwest interviewing scientists, wildfire experts, forest managers, firefighters, and policymakers.
Finally, the only problem I had with this book is that it has no index, making easy access to key information difficult.
In conclusion, this book delivers a powerful message of how wildfires will probably become more prevalent in the near-future!!!
(2017; introduction; 10 chapters; conclusion; black & white pictures throughout; main narrative 245 pages; acknowledgements; notes)
XXXXX
Warning! Wildfires are burning bigger, hotter, faster, and more often than in the past!!
XXXXX
“Without a new, evolving plan and the resources that are needed to deal with the new paradigm unfolding in the northern forests, year-round and runaway fire seasons will overtake our ability to manage forests in a way that serves our best interests…the chapters that follow attempt to create a clear-eyed look at the challenges we face…
Contending with the challenge of wildfire and the risks [associated with it] is not for the faint of heart. We can only find hope, however, in understanding the problems we face in figuring out how to live with wildfires.”
The above quote (in italics) comes from the introduction of this VERY informative book by Edward Struzik. Struzik is an award-winning writer and photographer. He is a Fellow at the Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen’s University (in Kingston. Ontario, Canada). Notably, Struzik has been granted the Fleming Medal, awarded for outstanding contributions to the understanding of science.
A firestorm is a big, destructive fire (or conflagration) which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is created during some of the largest wildfires.
A wildfire (or wildland fire) is a fire in an area of combustible vegetation that occurs in a rural area or the countryside.
This extremely, well-written book presents wildfire science that leaves room for little doubt about the hazards wildfires represent. It chronicles numerous raging wildfires of the past, starting with the 2016 megafire in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada., “the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history, and one of most destructive North American wildfires in modern times.”
In addition, the author examines how climate change figures into wildfires and reviews present wildfire policies.
In his research, the author traveled widely, especially in Canada and the American Northwest interviewing scientists, wildfire experts, forest managers, firefighters, and policymakers.
Finally, the only problem I had with this book is that it has no index, making easy access to key information difficult.
In conclusion, this book delivers a powerful message of how wildfires will probably become more prevalent in the near-future!!!
(2017; introduction; 10 chapters; conclusion; black & white pictures throughout; main narrative 245 pages; acknowledgements; notes)
XXXXX
June 23, 2018
I picked this up at the library and never imagined how riveting it would be. This is one of the most consistently interesting books I've ever read; the interconnections between wildfire and so many aspects of the natural and industrial world are mind boggling, never mind throwing in the massive effect of climate change.
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August 31, 2018363.379 S9279 2017
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews