A story about fire, especially now, is invariably a story about land. The problem before us is how to “live with” what has long been deemed an exogenous threat—to the maximization of timber yields at the start of the twentieth century, to suburban sprawl following WWII. Et cetera. The seemingly endless surplus of flammable vegetation built up over generations has, we now see all too well, transformed landscapes into unmanageable fuel loads igniting with the touch of a single firebrand.
