Akron Public Library

Three months ago, everything changed for Darla Kurtz and her family. Darlas father was responsible for a terrible fire at Charms lumber mill which killed five Amish men. And though he, too, lost his life, the town of Charm hasnt looked at her family the same since. Even Lukas Kinsinger-with whom Darla used to have a close friendship.Now her brothers anger at the town is spilling over onto Darla, and she has the bruises to prove it. The accident already...

In 1994, a wildfire on Colorado's Storm King Mountain was wrongly identified at the outset as occurring in South Canyon. This unintentional, seemingly minor human error was the first in a string of mistakes that would be compounded into one of the greatest tragedies in the annals of firefighting. Before it was done, fourteen courageous firefighters--men and women, hotshots, smoke jumpers, and helicopter crew--would lose their lives battling the deadly...

Much of Colorado is considered a high hazard fire environment and possesses all the ingredients necessary to support large, intense, and uncontrollable wildfires. Our ability to live more safely in this fire environment greatly depends upon our use of "pre-fire activities." These are steps taken before a wildfire occurs which improve the survivability of people and homes.