Wildfires seem to be a new norm in this age of experiencing extreme heat and tangible effects of climate change. Recently, blazes swept through Maui and parts of Canada, leaving mass destruction in their paths.
“This is Wildfire: How to Protect Yourself, Your Home, and Your Community in the Age of Heat” explores the relationship between wildfire, humans and nature. And, authors Nick Mott and University of Montana professor Justin Angle offer tips on how to prevent fires and stay safe if they do ignite.
They saw the U.S. has a complicated history with fire policy, recently adopting a fire suppression policy above all else that backtracks the country’s history with prescribed burns to control forest areas.
“What studies have shown is that indigenous people over millennia have had a deep and intimate relationship with fire,” Mott says, “that forests were managed before settlers colonized the country for thousands of years.”
4 tips from Nick Mott and Justin Angle for preventing wildfires
- Keep your gutters clean and roof free of debris
- Do not store flammable materials under a deck or up against your house
- Talk to your neighbors about fire safety and help secure their homes if possible
- Keep tabs on city, town or council policy around wildfires
Book excerpt: ‘This is Wildfire: How to Protect Yourself, Your Home, and Your Community in the Age of Heat’
By Nick Mott and Justin Angle
Excerpted from “This is Wildfire: How to Protect Yourself, Your Home, and Your Community in the Age of Heat” by Nick Mott and Justin Angle. Copyright © 2023. Available from Bloomsbury Publishing.
Thomas Danielian produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Gabe Bullard. Grace Griffin adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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