Captured by Fire - by Chris Czajkowski & Fred Reid (Paperback)

About the Book

In the summer of 2017, wildfires dominated the headlines in British Columbia. As a low pressure weather system continued start new fires, strong winds fanned the existing ones. Czajkowski's is an exciting eyewitness chronicle of a summer in wildfire country..

Book Synopsis

In the summer of 2017, wildfires dominated the headlines in British Columbia. As a low pressure weather system continued to cause lightning strikes, starting new fires, strong winds fanned the existing ones. Over two hundred fires burned in the province and nearly ten thousand people in or around the towns of 100 Mile House, Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Princeton and Williams Lake received the instruction YOU MUST EVACUATE NOW. But not everyone left.

Captured by Fire alternates between the dramatic first-person accounts of wilderness dweller Chris Czajkowski and homesteader Fred Reid, who both ignored the evacuation order and stayed to protect their properties, animals and livelihoods. Living in a remote area, they knew that their homes would be of low priority to officials when fire fighting resources were deployed. Over the course of the summer, as alerts fluctuated and even the firefighters pulled out, both had to decide: when is it time to go?

Review Quotes

"Particularly delightful is the structure of the book, juxtaposing chapters written by each author. In an uncanny way it's like watching two movies on a split-screen television, with plenty of overlap linking the two narratives. The reader can track events happening simultaneously in Precipice Valley and "downtown" Kleena Kleene from the first lightening strikes of July 7th to the mop up stages in late September. It keeps the reader engaged -- though sometimes gasping for air." -Sage Birchwater, The Ormsby Review, October 1, 2019

--Sage Birchwater "The Ormsby Review "