Essay — Writings — John N. Maclean

By John Maclean
Originally published by High Country News in July 2013

Tough questions are being raised about the deaths of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots in Arizona's Yarnell Hill Fire on June 30. They were physically fit, highly trained young men, and they deployed emergency shelters in hellish temperatures that likely topped 1,200 degrees Farenheit. The burns and suffocation killed them, but were mistakes and bad policy also at fault?

Article, EssayGuest UserMarch 4, 2021wildfires

Down to the Last Ember: The Thirtymile Fire

By John N. Maclean
Essay originally published in High Country News, September 9, 2008 in their “Writers on the Rage” series

Behind daily headlines about bigger and more costly wildland fires, the firefighting community has been sweating out the issue of criminal liability for serious mistakes made on the fireline.

EssayGuest UserMarch 1, 2021wildfires