Summit County Library & Park City Library present One Book One Community 2025 - Fire Weather by John Vaillant
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN NONFICTION
“Grips like a philosophical thriller, warns like a beacon, and shocks to the core.” —Robert Macfarlane, bestselling author of Underland
Fire Weather looks at the 2016 wildfire that devastated Fort McMurray, the hub of Canada’s oil industry and America’s biggest foreign supplier. With masterly prose and a cinematic eye, John Vaillant takes us on a riveting journey through the intertwined histories of North America’s oil industry and the birth of climate science, to the unprecedented devastation wrought by modern forest fires, and into lives forever changed by these disasters. John Vaillant’s urgent work is a book for—and from—our new century of fire, which has only just begun (from publisher’s description).
In 2021, 8,000 residents near Pinebrook were evacuated from their homes as the Parleys Canyon Fire threatened to spread over the hill. Fortunately, no structures were lost, but it was nonetheless a harrowing four days that left 541 acres burned. In September 2024, the Yellow Lake Fire started about 10 miles from Francis in Wasatch County and burned about 33,000 acres. Further from Summit County, the Southern California wildfires hit in January 2025 and caused tens of billions of dollars in damages and the loss of many lives. Given the local impact of events like these, the One Book One Community committee felt the topics addressed in Fire Weather are timely and relevant for our community to discuss.
The ebook and audiobook of Fire Weather are available on Libby and we have multiple copies of the book available to check out at all of our branches.
Meet the Author - John Vaillant
John Vaillant will speak to the community on Tuesday, July 29th at 7:00 p.m. in the Jim Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library (1255 Park Ave., Park City, UT 84060). There will be a book signing after the presentation with books available to purchase provided by Dolly's Bookstore.
John Vaillant is an author and freelance writer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and the Guardian, among others. His first book, The Golden Spruce (Norton, 2005), was a bestseller and won several awards, including the Governor General's and Rogers Trust awards for non-fiction (Canada). His second nonfiction book, The Tiger (Knopf, 2010), was an international bestseller, and has been published in 16 languages. Film rights were optioned by Brad Pitt’s film company, Plan B. In 2014 Vaillant won the Windham-Campbell Prize, a global award for non-fiction. In 2015, he published his first work of fiction, The Jaguar's Children (Houghton Mifflin), which was long-listed for the Dublin IMPAC and Kirkus Fiction Prizes, and was a finalist for the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize (Canada). His latest book is the 2024 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in General Nonfiction, Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World (Knopf, 2023).
One Book One Community is supported by Friends of the Park City Library, Friends of the Summit County Library, Dolly’s Bookstore, and Pendry Park City.
One Book One Community Supporting Programs
Professor Anderegg: Illuminating the Future of Earth's Forests Under Climate Change
Wednesday, June 4 at 2:00 p.m.
Location: Community Room at Park City Library (1255 Park Ave., Park City, UT 84060)
Presenter: Dr. William Anderegg, School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah - World Renowned Climate Scientist and Director of the Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy
Description: What is the future of Earth's forests under climate change? Massive forest mortality events of many tree species in the last two decades prompt concerns that drought, insects, and wildfire may devastate forests in the coming decades. Professor Anderegg's talk will cover how drought, fire, and climate change affect forest ecosystems in the western US and around the world. More info
Fire-Resilient Landscaping for Safer Spaces
Tuesday, June 10 at 5:00 p.m.
Location: Community Room at Park City Library (1255 Park Ave., Park City, UT 84060)
Presenters: Maddie Nelson, Open Space Supervisor at Basin Rec, and Sara Jo Dickens from Summit CWMA
Description: Join us for an engaging and informative session on fire-resistant landscaping and fire mitigation projects in Park City. Discover how to reduce the spread of noxious weeds during fire mitigation efforts, and take home free seeds to plant your own fire-resistant plants. The event will conclude with a Q&A session, giving you the opportunity to get expert advice on creating safer, more resilient landscapes. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your landscaping while supporting fire safety in the community! More info
Safety Fair
Saturday, June 28 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Information Center Parking Lot (1794 Olympic Parkway, Park City, UT 84098)
Description: Build relationships with Summit County’s public safety and health leaders. Activities include: Kids bike derby, free face painting, food trucks, prizes, crafts, big truck petting zoo (Park City Fire Truck and Summit County Bookmobile). Organizations include: Park City Fire District, Summit County Sheriff's Office, Summit County Health, Peace House, Summit County Library, and more.
Learning to Live with Wildland Fire on the Wasatch Back
Monday, June 30 at 6:00 p.m.
Location: Community Room at Park City Library (1255 Park Ave., Park City, UT 84060)
Presenter: J. Bradley Washa, Assistant Professor of Wildland Science, Utah State University - Expert in Wildland Fire Science and Management
Description: From the Los Angeles Basin and Lahaina to the Marshall Fire in Boulder, Colorado, the impact of devastating wildfires continues to increase across the United States. While Park City has not experienced recent damage from a wildfire event, local fires such as the Parleys Canyon Fire of 2021 and 2024’s Yellow Lake Fire bring home the idea that we all exist within a wildfire-dependent ecosystem. As such, each year we face increased effort to address these threats around Summit County and live with the associated personal impact. In his presentation, Brad will demonstrate the parallels and differences between our local wildfire events and those across the country and beyond, including that of the 2016 Fort McMurray Fire in Alberta, which is the fire of interest in this year’s One Book One Community selection, Fire Weather by John Vaillant. More info