Insights into how plants and animals control, survive, and recover from wildfires.Thanks to climate change and the U.S. Forest Service's shortsighted Smokey the Bear campaign, massively devastating wildfires are becoming ever more common-but, as Stremer astutely explains, nature itself has mechanisms in place for mitigating the damage and even benefiting from fire. So, along with describing how fires actually help lodgepole pines and certain beetles reproduce, she notes how some trees are protected by their bark and naturally prune lower-hanging branches to make it harder for ground fires to reach the canopy; she also notes how both goats and beavers serve to make woodlands generally less flammable. The author surveys ways in which wild fauna respond to fires, how livestock and zoo animals are evacuated, and, in a chapter headed by a trigger warning, how badly injured creatures are (when possible) rescued and treated. After retracing the natural stages of post-fire regrowth, she closes with general accounts of how controlled burns are managed and of wilderness firefighters in training and action; she caps it all off with bountiful source notes, citations, and resource lists. Crisp, drama-heightening photos of smoky or burned-out woodlands and of heavily equipped firefighters (racially ambiguous due to angle or distance) are interspersed with Garland's handsome painted images of flora and fauna.Must-reading on a hot topic. (glossary, bibliography, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)

Insights into how plants and animals control, survive, and recover from wildfires.Thanks to climate change and the U.S. Forest Service's shortsighted Smokey the Bear campaign, massively devastating wildfires are becoming ever more common-but, as Stremer astutely explains, nature itself has mechanisms in place for mitigating the damage and even benefiting from fire. So, along with describing how fires actually help lodgepole pines and certain beetles reproduce, she notes how some trees are protected by their bark and naturally prune lower-hanging branches to make it harder for ground fires to reach the canopy; she also notes how both goats and beavers serve to make woodlands generally less flammable. The author surveys ways in which wild fauna respond to fires, how livestock and zoo animals are evacuated, and, in a chapter headed by a trigger warning, how badly injured creatures are (when possible) rescued and treated. After retracing the natural stages of post-fire regrowth, she closes with general accounts of how controlled burns are managed and of wilderness firefighters in training and action; she caps it all off with bountiful source notes, citations, and resource lists. Crisp, drama-heightening photos of smoky or burned-out woodlands and of heavily equipped firefighters (racially ambiguous due to angle or distance) are interspersed with Garland's handsome painted images of flora and fauna.Must-reading on a hot topic. (glossary, bibliography, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)

Gr 4–6 —Wildfires have become an increasingly frequent news event. But the news mostly focuses on the human element; what happens to the plant life and animals during and after those fires? This book gives a very detailed account on this topic. The chapters discuss how plants can use fire in their development, and how some animals can benefit from wildfires. The narrative explains how animal senses aid in the recovery after wildfires. Some animals even help fight the fires, like the beaver whose dens help keep woodlands cool and wet. Zoo, farm, and other animals that cannot escape fires are highlighted, as well. An explanation of proper woodland maintenance, such as controlled burns, is presented as are the firefighters who battle these blazes. Both real photos and stylized drawings illustrate the volume. There are information boxes throughout the chapters with frequently asked questions about wildfires. Front matter includes a table of contents and an introduction. The back matter is very extensive with a long glossary of the terms that appear in bold throughout; source notes; a bibliography; interview notations; photo credits; links for more information; and an index. VERDICT A great resource on animal coping behavior as well as on how fires can sometimes be beneficial to nature.—Kristin J. Anderson