Good fires and bad firesĪD: It strikes me that looking into the Grand Canyon, we get a very visceral experience of deep time, which gives a striking perspective on the tremendous history of the earth and its slow rhythms. My doctoral dissertation was a biography of an American geologist and explorer, and I focused on the American West, mostly topics pertinent to the Canyon. My second life was as a student of history and geology. My first life was on the North Rim, but I never studied fire in school. I never studied fire in school – it wasn’t taught much, and certainly not at the universities I attended. I did it for 15 seasons, 12 as crew boss. And that began a wonderful life in a very magical place. So there I was, and they asked – do you want to go over to the North Rim and join a fire crew? I’d never been there, had never done anything with fire, so I said, Sure. On the day I showed up to sign my papers, someone from the North Rim fire crew had called, saying he couldn’t come. Right after graduating from high school, I was 18 years old, and I got a job at Grand Canyon National Park. I got interested in fire completely by accident. SP: It is impossible to ignore such words, which also testify to the way in which fire penetrates the culture, without us even thinking about it. How was your interest in fire ignited, if you allow the pun? You have written about the ancient and complex Australian fire history in Burning Bush and very extensively about fire in North America: All in all, I have counted that twenty of your thirty books are about fire. Even if the fire season should be over for now, but it is only just beginning in Australia, where they still recovering from the disastrous megafires two years ago. Part I: Fire creatures on a fire planetĪD: This year the fire season has been grueling in American West, with unusual fires in the northern states as well as the biggest fire in the history of California. It’s our ecological signature», says Stephen Pyne in this interview with Anders Dunker.

Fire by Stephen J. Pyne