On the Burning Edge: A Fateful Fire and the Men Who Fought It
Written by Kyle Dickman
Narrated by Will Damron
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
The definitive account of one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history, which killed nineteen elite firefighters of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and also inspired the major motion picture Only the Brave.
On June 28, 2013, a single bolt of lightning sparked an inferno that devoured more than eight thousand acres in northern Arizona. Twenty elite firefighters-the Granite Mountain Hotshots-walked together into the Yarnell Hill Fire, tools in their hands and emergency fire shelters on their hips. Only one of them walked out.
An award-winning journalist and former wildland firefighter, Kyle Dickman brings to the story a professional's understanding of how wildfires ignite, how they spread, and how they are fought. He understands hotshots and their culture: the pain and glory of a rough and vital job, the brotherly bonds born of dangerous work. Drawing on dozens of interviews with officials, families of the fallen, and the lone survivor, he describes in vivid detail what it's like to stand inside a raging fire-and shows how the increased population and decreased water supply of the American West guarantee that many more young men will step into harm's way in the coming years.
Kyle Dickman
Kyle Dickman is a contributing editor at Outside and a former member of the firefighting crew known as the Tahoe Hotshots. He spent five seasons fighting wildfires in California, and is the author of On the Burning Edge. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife.
Related to On the Burning Edge
Related audiobooks
The Fire Line: The Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hurricane Jim Crow: How the Great Sea Island Storm of 1893 Shaped the Lowcountry South Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo Sleep with the Angels: The Story of a Fire Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wait for Me: True Stories of War, Love and Rock & Roll Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFire on the Mountain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing for Coal: America's Deadliest Labor War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe World We Burn: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Time Of Emergency: A Citizen's Handbook On Nuclear Attack, Natural Disasters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5End Day [Dramatized Adaptation] Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Outlaw Kingdom: Bill Tilghman Was The Man Who Tamed Dodge City. Now He Faced A Lawless Frontier. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cairngorm John Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Father of American Conservation: George Bird Grinnell Adventurer, Activist, and Author Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Presence of My Enemies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe American Adrenaline Narrative Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Manjula Martin's The Last Fire Season Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelling Hate: Marketing the Ku Klux Klan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Man Who Caught the Storm: The Life of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Tuesday Morning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daunting Days of Winter: Getting Home Was Just the Beginning Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead America - Lowcountry Complete Collection Books 1-18 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Deserter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fracture Event: An Espionage Disaster Thriller Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Agriculture For You
Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Seed Detective: Uncovering the Secret Histories of Remarkable Vegetables Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Restoration Agriculture: Real-World Permaculture for Farmers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beekeeping: The Ultimate Guide for Getting Started With Producing Honey and Keeping Bees Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Soil Science for Gardeners: Working with Nature to Build Soil Health Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Raising Chickens For Dummies: 2nd Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Start Your Farm: The Authoritative Guide to Becoming a Sustainable 21st Century Farm Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Permaculture for the Rest of Us: Abundant Living on Less than an Acre Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Raising Goats For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Holistic Homesteading: A Guide to a Sustainable and Regenerative Lifestyle Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage and a Girl Saved by Bees Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Miraculous Abundance: One Quarter Acre, Two French Farmers, and Enough Food to Feed the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lean Farm: How to Minimize Waste, Increase Efficiency, and Maximize Value and Profits with Less Work Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Teaming with Fungi: The Organic Grower's Guide to Mycorrhizae Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Norwegian Wood: Chopping, Stacking, and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Farming for the Long Haul: Resilience and the Lost Art of Agricultural Inventiveness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog): Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Family Garden Plan: Grow a Year's Worth of Sustainable and Healthy Food Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for On the Burning Edge
5 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Outstanding book and story of the great 19 hero’s
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On the Burning Edge by Kyle Dickman is a highly recommended, in depth look at the 20 Granite Mountain Hotshots of Prescott, AZ., and the Yarnell, AZ., wildfire that claimed 19 of their lives.
Dickman, a former hotshot, spent five years fighting wildfires in California. His insider's knowledge and viewpoint give us information about the group and how they train and interact. While providing the information on a brief history of wildfire firefighting teams, and how a hotshot team trains and works fighting wildfires, he focuses mainly on the Granite Mountain Hotshots. He then gives us a well-researched inside glimpse at each of the members of the team. Dickman carefully covers each member of the crew and even includes their last text messages sent to loved ones.
The wildfire in Yarnell was sparked by a lightning bolt and quickly turned into an inferno that eventually devoured more than eight thousand acres in northern Arizona. Anyone who has ever seen a wildfire take off will understand the terror and unpredictability of a wildfire. Those of us who have done so, have also watched and applauded the dedicated crews coming in to fight those fires. While the actual firefighting portion of the book may seem scant, On the Burning Edge is a memorable and heartbreaking account of the men who fought the fire.
I remember vividly when living in the west seeing a lightning strike hit a nearby mountain and then almost immediately seeing smoke arise from the mountain. It is a horrifying feeling to watch a fire take off and know your family could be in the path of a wildfire. Furthermore, these fires seemed to be a yearly occurrence. So many people across the USA depend on the hotshots and crews of dedicated firefighters from across the West to come in and fight the fires. (A shout out to those flying helicopters and dumping flame retardant on the fires too.)
Dickman does a good job presenting the information and telling the story of the tragic event. It is also a story of warning and caution. With the increased population and well publicized decrease in the water supply in the West, there are certainly going to be an increase of fires that threaten populated areas and more young men will be in harm’s way fighting the fires.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Random House for review purposes.