When a bolt of lightning ignited a hilltop in the sleepy town of Yarnell, Arizona, in June of 2013, setting off a blaze that would grow into one of the deadliest fires in American history, the twenty men who made up the Granite Mountain Hotshots sprang into action.
An elite crew trained to combat the most challenging wildfires, the Granite Mountain Hotshots were a ragtag family, crisscrossing the American West and wherever else the fires took them. The Hotshots were loyal to one another and dedicated to the tough job they had. There's Eric Marsh, their devoted and demanding superintendent who turned his own personal demons into lessons he used to mold, train and guide his crew; Jesse Steed, their captain, a former Marine, a beast on the fire line and a family man who wasnt afraid to say I love you to the firemen he led; Andrew Ashcraft, a team leader still in his 20s who struggled to balance his love for his beautiful wife and four children and his passion for fighting wildfires. We see this band of brothers at work, at play and at home, until a fire that burned in their own backyards leads to a national tragedy.
Impeccably researched, drawing upon more than a hundred hours of interviews with the firefighters families, colleagues, state and federal officials, and fire historians and researchers, New York Times Phoenix Bureau Chief Fernanda Santos has written a riveting, pulse-pounding narrative of an unthinkable disaster, a remarkable group of men and the raging wildfires that threaten our countrys treasured wild lands.

Fernanda Santos

St. Martin's Press

Wednesday Books

Tor Nightfire

United States, United States of America

1st, First Edition, PS, 2016

First Edition, 2016-05-03

Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-263) and index.

viii, 273 pages : 22 cm
"Draws on hundreds of hours of interviews with family members, colleagues, historians and other insiders to trace the stories and heroic sacrifices of the elite Granite Mountain Hotshots who gave their lives fighting the catastrophic 2013 wildfire in Yarnell, Arizona,"--NoveList
When a bolt of lightning ignited a hilltop in the sleepy town of Yarnell, Arizona, in June 2013, setting off a blaze that would grow into one of the deadliest fires in American history, the twenty men who made up the Granite Mountain Hotshots sprang into action. An elite crew trained to combat the most challenging wildfires, the Granite Mountain Hotshots were a ragtag family, crisscrossing the American West and wherever else the fires took them. The Hotshots were loyal to one another and dedicated to the tough job they had. We see this band of brothers at work, at play and at home, until a fire that burned in their own backyards leads to a national tragedy. Impeccably researched, drawing upon more than a hundred hours of interviews with the firefighters' families, colleagues, state and federal officials, and fire historians and researchers, journalist Fernanda Santos has written a riveting narrative of an unthinkable disaster, a remarkable group of men, and the raging wildfires that threaten our country's treasured wild lands.--Adapted from dust jacket
Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-263) and index
The guys -- Saving a tree -- A bolt of lightning -- Calculating risk -- A sleeping fire awakens -- Promises and goodbyes -- A treacherous combination -- Trouble in the sky -- Change in the winds -- No answer -- Gone -- Two thousand degrees -- Coming home -- "We take care of our own" -- An end, and new beginnings

2023-06-28