Fire Storm

"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 In the spring of 2016, the world watched as wildfire ravaged the Canadian town of Fort McMurray. Firefighters named the fire "the Beast." It seemed to be 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. In Firestorm, Edward Struzik confronts this new reality, offering a deftly woven tale of science, economics, politics, and human determination. It's possible for us to flourish in the coming age of megafires--but it will take a radical new approach that requires acknowledging that fires are no longer avoidable. Living with fire also means, Struzik reveals, that we must better understand how the surprising, far-reaching impacts of these massive fires will linger long after the smoke eventually clears.

A raging forest fire in the National Parks area of the Sierras traps a forest ranger and a young boy he suspects is an arsonist.

The biggest firestorm documented in North America—3,500,000 acres of forest burned in northern Alberta and British Columbia—created the world's largest smoke layer in the atmosphere. The smoke was seen around the world, causing the moon and the sun to appear blue. The Chinchaga Firestorm is a historical study of the effects of fire on the ecological process. Using technical explanations and archival discoveries, the author shows the beneficial yet destructive effects of forest fires, including the 2011 devastation of Slave Lake, Alberta. Cordy Tymstra tells the stories of communities and individuals as their lives intersected with the path of the wildfire—stories that demonstrate people's spirit, resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and persistence in the struggle against nature's devastating power. The 1950 event changed the way these fires are fought in Alberta. Forest fire scientists, foresters, forest ecologists and policy makers, as well as those who are interested in western Canadian history and ecology, will definitely want this book in their library.

"A fourth ... puzzler for teen Sherlock as he plunges into a fight for his life and battles to discover what has happened to his missing friends"--Provided by publisher.

Practical suggestions on how to avoid and overcome the destructive interpersonal conflicts many churches have experienced with leaders, members, and pastors.

An unflinching photographic record of the epic effects of a violent climate, from the earliest extinction events to the present. Violent geologic events have ravaged the Earth since time began, spanning the vast eons of our planet's existence. These seismic phenomena have scored their marks in rock strata and been reflected in fossil records for future humanity to excavate and ponder. For most of the preceeding 78,000 years Homo sapiens simply observed natural climate upheaval. One hundred years ago, however, industrialization stunningly changed the rules, so that now most climate change is driven by us. Fire, Storm and Flood is an unflinching photographic record of the epic effects of a violent climate, from the earliest extinction events to the present, in which we witness climate chaos forced by unnatural global warming. It uses often emotional and moving imagery to drive home the enormity of climatic events, offering a sweeping acknowledgment of our crowded planet's heartbreaking vulnerability and show-stopping beauty.

Zane Obispo's new life on a beautiful secluded tropical island, complete with his family and closest friends, should be perfect. But he can't control his newfound fire skills yet (inherited from his father, the Maya god Hurakan); there's a painful rift between him and his dog ever since she became a hell hound; and he doesn't know what to do with his feelings for Brooks. One day he discovers that by writing the book about his misadventures with the Maya gods, he unintentionally put other godborn children at risk. Unless Zane can find the godborns before the gods do, they will be killed. To make matters worse, Zane learns that Hurakan is scheduled to be executed. Zane knows he must rescue him, no matter the cost. Can he accomplish both tasks without the gods detecting him, or will he end up a permanent resident of the underworld? In this cleverly plotted sequel to The Storm Runner, the gang is back together again with spirited new characters, sneaky gods, Aztec royalty, unlikely alliances, and secrets darker than Zane could ever have imagined. Secrets that will change him forever.

Greg Mullins followed his father into fighting bushfires – it was in the blood. He fought major fires around Sydney and the Blue Mountains for decades, and studied bushfires in Europe, Canada and the US. He risked his life in the 1994 Sydney fires and, later, during our catastrophic Black Summer of 2019–20. As a career firefighter, he worked his way up the ranks to become Commissioner of one of the world’s largest fire services, Fire and Rescue NSW, for nearly fourteen years. When it came to natural disasters there was little, if anything, he hadn’t witnessed first-hand. Over five decades he watched as weather patterns and natural disaster risks changed, seeing bushfires becoming bigger, hotter and more destructive. He talked to scientists and weighed their evidence with his experience, coming to the realisation that man-made global warming was setting the stage for a deadly firestorm. In early 2019 he tried to warn the government that a Black Summer was imminent so that adequate preparations could be made. . . But when he and former fire chiefs from across the country tried to meet with politicians to sound an urgent warning, they were ignored. Combining thrilling stories of what it’s like to be on the front line of Australia’s first giga-fire with the hard truths of human-caused climate change, Firestorm is a compelling account of raging fire, political evasion, settled science, and one man’s courageous, urgent call to action for all Australians.