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by Charles Vaught (Author)
State of Fire gives a raw, unexpected, and all-too-truthful view of one man's journey into the world of wildland firefighting. Based on the author's experiences as a crewmember on the Highlands 20, once described as an "elite 20-man handcrew." This book pulls back the curtain on the mysteries of those who go toe-to-toe in battles with Nature, exposing various overlooked aspects of what it means and takes to fight wildfire. From the raw physicality of the job, to the job's transformational qualities, to the extreme camaraderie earned along the way; State of fire explores the toll that wildland firefighters pay both physically, mentally, socially and of course, the toll it takes on their love lives. Within these pages wildland firefighters are not "hero-ized" role models sanitized of any shred of truth, but portrayed with all of their flaws, egos, weaknesses, and baggage, giving the reader a better understanding of not only the of the people who go into the wild lands of America and fight fire, but the realities of the job itself.State of Fire is about finding commonality by going through hardship with strangers, who soon become closer than family. It's about what happens when you separate men from society and normalcy for months at a time. It's about finding purpose in the most unexpected of places, and coming to terms with one's limitations. It's about pranks and laughter and ball-breaking and love and loss, all while testing of one's mental, emotional, and physical strength through wildfire State of Fire represents - my path to, of, and away from wildland firefighting. To honor all wildland firefighters 10% of all book sales are being donated the Wildland Firefighter Foundation (wffoundation.org), an excellent non-profit out of Boise, Idaho, who help wildland firefighters who have been injured on the job, or the families of those who have lost wildland firefighters in the line of duty.
