Recommendation: Jan Selby’s Fires
Learn more about the firefighting industry from a former hotshot
This last month, in the series “Prepping for Fire Season,” we’ve looked so far at the ways that fire can open up new spaces for growth (both literally and metaphorically), and taken an up-close look at some of the unexpected beauty to be found in a burn:
I thought it might be useful to offer another up-close perspective on fire, but one based in experiences quite different from my own, which is why I would like to recommend to you the Substack Fires, written by former wildland firefighter Jan Selby:
Like Unsettling, Fires combines personal story with pieces that are sometimes more historical or critical in nature, with a focus on what some refer to as “the fire industrial complex,” as well as those individuals trying to change it. And for those who enjoy interviews as a format, expect to find plenty of interviews with other firefighters as well as practitioners of cultural burning and others working within the many organizations involved in fire policy or prevention.
It should be no surprise, in our culture, that there is a for-profit industry piggybacking off state-run fire response and that the same issues of sexism, racism, and worker abuse that one finds in other industries can be found there as well. So if you’re curious about that, and about how coming into right relationship with fire might mean not just shifting personal attitudes about fire but also structural change of major institutions, Fires is a place to learn more.
Selby writes often about how the belief in full fire suppression remains strong. We’ve seen state-based bills in recent years calling for an end to prescribed burns, and the Forest Service recently put a pause on prescribed burning after the recent New Mexico fires. Selby discusses some of this below:
You’ll find that some of the posts are paywalled, but you can check out many or portions of them for free, like this piece on the interconnections between wildfire, grazing, and wolves:
Note that I continue to run Unsettling without a paywall so that it’s available to all to read. If you’d like to support the work done here to keep it going, though, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. And know that 10% of income earned from subscriptions (after processing fees) also goes back to groups organizing around landback, reparations, and similar work.
And thanks to those of you who already offer financial support! It means a lot.
Until next time,
Meg