David Carle 
Introduction to Fire in California 
Second Edition

An up-to-date, essential guide to California’s long relationship with fire, for the climate-change generation.


What is fire? How are wildfires ignited? How do California’s weather and topography influence fire? How did Indigenous people use fire on the land we now call California? David Carle’s clearly written, dramatically illustrated first edition of
Introduction to Fire in California helped Californians, including the millions who live near naturally flammable wildlands, better understand their own place in the state’s landscape. In this revised edition, Carle covers the basics of fire ecology; looks at the effects of fire on people, wildlife, soil, water, and air; discusses fire-fighting organizations and land-management agencies; and explains how to prepare for an emergency and what to do when one occurs.

 

This second edition brings the wildfire story up to the year 2020, with information about recent extreme and deadly fire events and the evidence that climate change is swiftly changing the wildfire story in California. This update reflects current debates about California’s future as a climate-crisis leader facing massive, annual natural disasters; the future of California development and housing; and the critically necessary alternatives to traditional energy options.

 

Features:

• A larger, more reader-friendly page format


• More than 110 color illustrations and maps


• An overview of major wildfires in California’s history


• An updated and expanded discussion of the effect of climate change on fires in natural landscapes


• Tips on what to do before, during, and after fires


• Discussion of utility companies and massive power shutoffs

Tabela de Conteúdo

Acknowledgments

Introduction 


The Nature of Fire

What Is Fire?


The Fire Triangle

Oxygen: Fire Breath

Fuel: Fire Food 8

Heat: Fire Energy


Ignition Sources


Fire Behavior

Weather

Wind

Topography: Lay of the Land


Fire and Life across California

Fire Regimes

Seeds, Sprouts, and ‘All of the Above’

Vegetation Types and Fire

Chaparral Shrublands 

Conifer Forests 

Oak Woodlands and Savannas

Sagebrush Shrublands and Pinyon-Juniper Forests

Deserts 

Grasslands

Wetlands and Riparian Woodlands 

Wildlife 

Soil, Water, and Air 

The Climate Crisis


The Flames of History

California’s Light-Burning Debate

The Big Ones

Extremes after 2010


Burning Issues

Fighting Back: Tactics and Weaponry

Making Peace: Restoring Fire

The Chaparral Dilemma

Logging versus Thinning

Fire Policy and Plans

A Fire-Safe Power Grid

Public Safety Power Shutoffs: Do They Increase Safety?


Getting Ready: Life on the Edge

Wildland-Urban Interface

Becoming a Fire-Adapted Californian

Before the Fire, Be Ember Aware

During the Fire

After the Fire

COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Wildfire

Kindling Change


Online Fire Resources

Glossary

References

Art Credits

Index

Sobre o autor

David Carle is President of the California State Park Rangers Association, a retired park ranger, and the author of thirteen nonfiction books, including introductions to California's water; air; earth, soil, and land; and fire. He has also written two novels.