“When it all Burns: The Creation of a Wildfire Crisis” (Environmental Studies)

This talk offers an on-the-ground view of a record-breaking season with a California hotshot crew, tracing the sociological, historical, and economic forces behind today’s megafires. For wildland firefighters, navigating the escalating impacts of climate change is a matter of life and death. Their work distills an increasingly common experience of living on a precarious edge where social and environmental change outpaces our understanding of it. These fires are not natural disasters, but the result of political choices. Understanding where they come from, and how people survive them, is essential to imagining a more just climate future. Registration is required.