Breathing Fire

the long version

"A dramatic, revelatory account of the female inmate firefighters who battle California's wildfires"-- Of the thousands of firefighters who battle California's blazes every year, roughly 30 percent of the on-the-ground wildland crews are inmates earning a dollar an hour. Approximately 200 of those firefighters are women serving on all-female crews. Lowe has spent years getting to know dozens of women who have participated in the fire camp program. Speaking to captains, family and friends, correctional officers, and camp commanders, she provides an illuminating look at how the fire camps actually operate. In doing so, she encompasses California's underlying catastrophes of climate change, economic disparity, historical injustice, and the emotional and physical intensity of firefighting. -- adapted from jacket