California Is Fire

The Eaton and Palisades wildfires tore through Southern California in January 2025, incinerating neighborhoods and testing the resolve of those accustomed to living in close proximity to fire. These fires were fueled by abundant fuels, drought conditions, and high-speed Santa Ana Winds. While they were not a new phenomenon in California, such destruction in mid-winter was considered highly unusual, and their negative impacts continue to ripple outwards. Many have argued for full fire suppression: eliminating wildfires completely. But what if suppressing fires is what got us here in the first place? Can fire be a force for positive connection and regeneration? What does wildland firefighting consist of, exactly?

Please join River Selby at Clio’s to discuss River’s new book, Hotshot: A Life on Fire, inspired by their work on three different hotshot crews (two of them in California), fighting wildfires from Alaska to California to Colorado and everywhere in between. After their last season in 2010, they left the profession but remained haunted by fire. Having completed undergraduate studies and graduate school, River began questioning the predominant narrative about fire in the United States—that fire is a solely destructive force requiring total suppression. This initiated a years-long inquiry, the result of which is Hotshot. With this book, River delves into the world of people—almost entirely men—who risk their lives to fight and sometimes prevent wildfires. Hotshot interweaves an insider’s understanding of wildland firefighting with a deeply personal and emotional narrative while also synthesizing rigorously researched ecological and cultural histories to demonstrate the harms of fire suppression. A work of rare intimacy, Hotshot provides new insight into fire, the people who fight it, and the integral power of this elemental force.

Obi Kaufmann, author of The California Field Atlas and The State of Fire: Why California Burns, joins the conversation to discuss where his work intersects with and and diverges from River's. Together, they will explore the necessity of fire suppression and ignition, how these histories have led to the current moment in fire, and possibilities for positive change and community education. What does it mean to live in the Wildland Urban Interface? Is fire a problem to solve, or should we consider a paradigm shift in our thinking about it? How can we place ourselves inside the complexities of our local ecosystems rather than stacking value hierarchically? Bring your questions.

River Selby was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Stationed out of California, Oregon, Colorado, and Alaska, they worked as a wildland firefighter for seven years before completing undergraduate studies and an MFA at Syracuse University. River is currently a Kingsbury and Legacy Fellow at Florida State University, where they are pursuing their PhD in Nonfiction with an emphasis in North American colonization, queer ecology, and post 20th Century literature and culture. Hotshot: A Life on Fire is their first book.

Obi Kaufmann is an award-winning author of many best-selling books on California’s ecology, biodiversity, and geography. His 2017 book, The California Field Atlas, recontextualized popular ideas about California’s more-than-human world. His following books, The State of Water and The California Lands Trilogy, present a comprehensive survey of California’s evolutionary past and its unfolding future. 2024’s The State of Fire: Why California Burns is among his most popular and timely books to date.

Copies of both author's books are available for purchase through Clio's in advance or at the event.

Host or Publisher Clio's Books