WILDFIRE!

Presenting panoramas of a lightning-sparked wildfire, Wolff honors a forest ecosystem and the workers who monitor, manage, and fight forest fires.

Cinematic scenes toggle between animals—sensing danger, seeking shelter for themselves and their young—and humans, who are spotting, communicating, and fighting the wildfire, from the air and on the ground. Various birds—jay, raven, and more—sound the alarm, echoing Wolff’s refrain: “FireFireFire in the forest!” Double-page spreads feature dramatic perspectives and a palette of cool blue-greens and browns, and fiery red, yellow, and purple. Wolff portrays the humans involved in this crucial, often dangerous work as a committed group of racially and gender-diverse workers: Maria staffs a fire lookout; Mia’s a pilot ferrying smokejumpers. Dedicating the project to her son Brennan, a Pacific Northwest hotshot for three seasons, Wolff depicts him by name as a crew member. A bulldozer’s wide swath of “scraped earth finally halts the fire’s march.” A welcome storm helps douse flames as tired crews return to base and pilots fly smokejumpers to new wildfires. Final spreads convey a charred forest that nonetheless highlights some of fire’s natural, regenerative properties: burst pine cones with nuts for squirrels; temporary meadows for deer; tree snags for foraging woodpeckers. An author’s note details shifts in federal response to wildfires and the increasing impacts of climate change and human activity.(This book was reviewed digitally.)

A handsome, well-researched tribute to forest ecology and the brave people who help protect it.