The Fire Line

The Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots

By: Fernanda Santos

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos

“In Fernanda Santos’ expert hands, the story of 19 men and a raging wildfire unfolds as a riveting, pulse-pounding account of an American tragedy; and also as a meditation on manhood, brotherhood and family love. The Fire Line is a great and deeply moving book about courageous men and women.”

- Héctor Tobar, author of Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle that Set Them Free.

When a bolt of lightning ignited a hilltop in the sleepy town of Yarnell, Arizona, in June of 2013, setting off a blaze that would grow into one of the deadliest fires in American history, the twenty men who made up the Granite Mountain Hotshots sprang into action.

An elite crew trained to combat the most challenging wildfires, the Granite Mountain Hotshots were a ragtag family, crisscrossing the American West and wherever else the fires took them. The Hotshots were loyal to one another and dedicated to the tough job they had. There's Eric Marsh, their devoted and demanding superintendent who turned his own personal demons into lessons he used to mold, train and guide his crew; Jesse Steed, their captain, a former Marine, a beast on the fire line and a family man who wasn’t afraid to say “I love you” to the firemen he led; Andrew Ashcraft, a team leader still in his 20s who struggled to balance his love for his beautiful wife and four children and his passion for fighting wildfires. We see this band of brothers at work, at play and at home, until a fire that burned in their own backyards leads to a national tragedy.

Impeccably researched, drawing upon more than a hundred hours of interviews with the firefighters’ families, colleagues, state and federal officials, and fire historians and researchers, New York Times Phoenix Bureau Chief Fernanda Santos has written a riveting, pulse-pounding narrative of an unthinkable disaster, a remarkable group of men and the raging wildfires that threaten our country’s treasured wild lands.

The Fire Line is the winner of the 2017 Spur Award for Best First Nonfiction Book, and Spur Award Finalist for Best Western Contemporary Nonfiction.

Critic reviews

“Ari Fliakos's reading of the text is subdued and serious, as befits the material. Good pacing and well-placed inflection keep the forward momentum, and his serious tone, devoid of drama, adds to the sense of foreboding as the events unfold...Fliakos's delivery is reminiscent of a reporter's eyewitness account: well pitched to the text, unadorned, absorbing, and effective.” -<i>AudioFile.com</i>

touching

heartfelt story. i didnt know a single one of these gentlemen but by the end i felt that i had lost 19 brothers!!

Amazingly Told Story of Heroism and Loss:

The heartbreak for me after listening can be but a mere fraction for those that lived this modern day story of loss and grief. This story of optimistic young lives snuffed out as quick as they seem to start is weaved seamlessly with the selfish human actions at the root cause of these fires. This book will make you feel the hope of achievement, as well as the heartbreak of young people dying for a cause. Anger also is a strong emotion elicited by this book, as we are shown a mirror for our own egotism despite the ecological warnings. Very powerful and will leave you walking with a sick feeling of loss--though this lesson is one that needs to be felt.

Tragic Story That Needed Telling

I have to be honest, I had never heard of this author before stumbling across this book in the Audible store. But the book was fantastic. It reminded me of Sebastian Junger's work. Fernanda's ability to intertwine technical data while telling a compelling story was outstanding. It was obvious she busted her *ss researching this story. Rest In Peace to the heroes of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. Thank you Fernanda for telling their tale!

Exellent

This story is well -told and lets the listener make up their own minds. I believe there is more to it and am interested in knowing more, but this book tells the human side of it.

Heartbreaking!

Where does The Fire Line rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Excellent story - flows well, and the narration is great.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I live in Gilbert, AZ and remember still how this fire affected our whole state. This is a tragic story, and heartbreaking but also what a wonderful tribute to the fallen Hotshots.