From Colorado to California, China to Canada, Michael Kodas hopscotches the globe to better understand the frontlines of firefighting, while also getting perspective on the laboratories, universities, and federal agencies where this issue is fought out on a different level. This book provides a visceral sense of some of the most destructive environmental disasters of recent years: the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona that took the lives of 19 elite firefighters, and the Waldo Canyon Fire that overwhelmed the city of Colorado Springs. Kodas also describes the profound impact of these fires on the environment, and profiles the firefighters and scientists who are working around the clock to stop them.