The Fire Outside My Window: A Survivor Tells the True Story of California's Epic Cedar Fire

by Sandra Millers Younger

Overview

A survivor's heart-stopping account of a modern megafire, with a new introduction by the author

"The Cedar fire was a landmark event in American and California fire history. It continues to be a valuable case study for fire-line leaders and emergency responders. The Fire Outside My Window captures the epic scale, drama, and impact of today's recurring megafires better than any other book I know, and Sandra Younger's harrowing account of her own brush with death should be required reading for all emergency responders and anyone who lives in the wildland-urban interface. The Fire Outside My Window has become a classic account of a historic wildfire." -Tom Boatner, Chief, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Fire Operations (retired)

One of the largest and most destructive fires in California's recorded history, the Cedar Fire ravaged the San Diego area in late 2003, burning 273,246 acres, destroying 2,820 structures, and killing 15 people.

In a hopeful new introduction to this special 20th anniversary edition of The Fire Outside My Window, author Sandra Millers Younger reveals lessons learned from the historic California fire that took her home and signaled a new era in fire and climate history.

Younger's own miraculous saga of escape, ruin and renewal unifies a tapestry of experiences that takes readers into the heart of the epic firefight with stories of firefighters scrambling to combat a disaster bigger than they'd ever imagined, and civilians racing desperately to escape the flames.

The Fire Outside My Window is a riveting and nuanced tale that captures the intensity of a catastrophic wildfire, honors those lost to its fury, and celebrates the human spirit's innate capacity to triumph over adversity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798989154005
Publisher:	Terra Nova Ink
Publication date:	10/25/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	348
Sales rank:	309,274
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Sandra Younger lost her home, twelve neighbors, and almost her own life in the 2003 Cedar Fire-for fourteen years the biggest wildfire in modern California history and a harbinger of today's even more extreme climate-driven fire catastrophes.A powerful storyteller and career magazine journalist, Sandra felt compelled to capture the Cedar Fire story for posterity, documenting the event from the perspectives of both the firefighters battling the fire and the public caught in its path. First published in 2013, The Fire Outside My Window: A Survivor Tells the Story of California's Historic Cedar Fire, has been hailed as required reading for residents of wildfire country, adopted as a training text for top-level emergency professionals, and featured by national media. Sandra is also an international speaker and certified professional coach, working with disaster survivors and emergency leaders to build resilience and maximize potential. She and her husband, Bob, live near San Diego in Wildcat Canyon, the area worst hit by the Cedar Fire. They share two daughters, two sons-in-law, and three grandchildren, plus assorted Newfoundland dogs.

Table of Contents

Prologue vii

Chapter 1 A Sinister Brilliance 1

Chapter 2 Black Smoke Rising 7

Chapter 3 The Lost Hunter 18

Chapter 4 The Rescue 26

Chapter 5 Terra Nova 34

Chapter 6 Fire in the Forest 42

Chapter 7 Area Ignition 53

Chapter 8 Fair Warning 61

Chapter 9 Chaos in the Country Estates 68

Chapter 10 Wildcat Canyon 80

Chapter 11 Strange Way 91

Chapter 12 A Funny Feeling 102

Chapter 13 The Bobcat 109

Chapter 14 Muth Valley 121

Chapter 15 Paradise Lost 131

Chapter 16 West of Wildcat 140

Chapter 17 Air Attack 149

Chapter 18 San Diego City Limits 157

Chapter 19 Homeless 170

Chapter 20 Right Behind Me 176

Chapter 21 Backdoor Burning 183

Chapter 22 Five Hundred Miles from Home 194

Chapter 23 The Kindness of Strangers 206

Chapter 24 We Buried the Victims 216

Chapter 25 Forgiveness 227

Chapter 26 A New Season 235

Acknowledgments 242

Suggested Reading 244

Index 245

About the Author 248