Presents an introduction to wildfires and the men and women who fight them, describing the training, equipment, and real-life experiences of people who risk their lives as well as people who use fire for ecological reasons.

Examines the devastating effects of forest fires and the various techniques used to combat and prevent them.

Discusses the role of fire in the environment and fire policy for national parks, using the 1988 fire in Yellowstone National Park as an example.

"In the spring of 2016, the world watched as wildfire ravaged the Canadian town of Fort McMurray. Firefighters named the fire "the Beast" because it behaved in seemingly sinister and often unpredictable ways. Many of them hoped that they would never see anything like it again. Yet it's not a stretch to suggest that megafires like the Beast have become the new normal. A glance at international headlines shows a remarkable increase in higher temperatures,...