Fire on the Mountain: The True Story of the South Canyon Fire

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 merely the first in a string of mistakes that would be compounded into one of the greatest tragedies in the annals of wildland firefighting. Before it was done, fourteen courageous firefighters—men and women, hotshots, smokejumpers, and helicopter crew—would lose their lives battling the deadly, so-called South Canyon blaze. John N. Maclean’s award-winning national bestseller, a gripping work of narrative nonfiction, Fire on the Mountain is a stunning reconstruction of the killer conflagration and its aftermath.

This definitive account of the South Canyon blaze reveals:

• A Minute-by-Minute Account: Follow the sequence of unintentional errors and escalating dangers that led to the tragic outcome on Storm King Mountain.
• A True Story of Courage: Honor the fourteen hotshots, smokejumpers, and helicopter crew who faced the impossible and made the ultimate sacrifice.
• Meticulous Investigation: Understand the science of fire behavior and the complex decisions firefighters must make in a split second.
• A Lasting Legacy: Explore the aftermath of the tragedy and the profound impact it had on the firefighting community and safety protocols.

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 so-called South Canyon blaze.

John N. Maclean's award-winning national bestseller Fire on the Mountain is a stunning reconstruction of the killer conflagration and its aftermath—a page-turning true adventure of nature at its most unforgiving, and a powerful, indelible portrait of a unique breed of heroes who regularly and without question place their lives on the line.

“[Fire on the Mountain] renews our awe of and reverence for fire’s primal, inextinguishable essence, which crosses state lines, lifetimes, and generations.” - New York Times Book Review

“Like his father [Norman Maclean, author of A River Runs Through It], Maclean has written a work that will be read and reread for years.” - Denver Post