Wildfire in the Wilderness by Chris Czajkowski

Alarm about the 2004 Lonesome Lake fire went unnoticed for a while, to the great frustration of locals. It prompted me to start a blog and bring attention to the fire with reports from locals. Some of my friends and clients (I design web sites) were in the midst of this drama and their personal accounts were vivid, leading, amongst other things, to me getting a call from the CBC asking for information. Once the fire grew in size it had no trouble getting attention. Amongst those in danger was Chris Czajkowski, pioneer log cabin builder, botanist and wilderness tour guide. She was sending me regular reports which I reproduced in my blog and then on her web site. This year she published her account of this dramatic experience: Wildfire in the Wilderness

The book culminates in a white-knuckle account of the all-too-close Lonesome Lake fire of 2004, from its infancy as a lightning strike reported in nearby Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, to Czajkowski's realization that her first wilderness cabin had been consumed by fire and the dreaded moment when she is ordered by radiophone to evacuate herself, her guests and her dogs.

This latest book from Chris Czajkowski's spectacular corner of the world is another engrossing account of life in her wilderness. She regales the reader with accounts of shimmering mountain peaks, roaring snow-fed creeks, bears, eagles and monstrous storms; and tales of her dogs - Bucky (short for Bucket-head), who chases everything; Max, who tussles with wolves and a porcupine; and Raffi, a large, happy animal who thinks he's a lapdog.

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