"If we want our future generations to know what a forest is, if we want breathable air and fatality reduction, we need to stop pretending fire is an unpredictable disaster."
Author, retired wildland firefighter and University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program graduate, Clare Frank, will read from her book, “Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire” at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe Prim Library this Saturday, June 10, at 1 p.m. Following the reading, Frank will engage in conversation with a panel of experts from the Climate and Wildfire Institute discuss how to better protect and serve the Lake Tahoe region and Sierra Nevada being impacted by increasingly severe wildfires. Frank will bring her unique perspective as a seasoned firefighter and the first female Chief of Fire Protection for CAL FIRE.
“Now, anyone’s fire is everyone’s fire in the West and beyond,” Frank said. “If we want our future generations to know what a forest is, if we want breathable air and fatality reduction, we need to stop pretending fire is an unpredictable disaster.”
Her richly detailed, and open-hearted account of an extraordinary life in fire, , serves as the catalyst for deep conversation about the ongoing wildfire crisis in the West.
“Wildfire and climate change continue to pose challenges in this area and globally,” Carol Godkin, Climate and Wildfire Executive Director who will serve as moderator of the conversation, said. “Fire season is a harsh reality in the West and we need to be reacting to this crisis.”
Also participating in the conversation is June Sylvester Saraceno, Director of the Low Residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe where Frank earned her MFA.
The event is free and open to the public.
About the Climate and Wildfire Institute
The Climate & Wildfire Institute (CWI) is a nonprofit organization that connects science to public policy and decision-making to accelerate solutions to a fast-changing climate. CWI operates at the boundaries of science, policy, and practice to bring communities and cross-sector leaders together, putting science into action to build climate and wildfire resilience. CWI is working towards establishing its headquarters in the Lake Tahoe area, which has the infrastructure to support the Institute and is at the forefront of bi-state cooperation to limit wildfire hazards and improve forest health.
