Contents
Epilogue — 6.
Overview
In summer 2018, a catastrophic wildfire sweeps Mendocino County, devouring forests, farms, and towns despite an immense firefighting effort. The blaze’s unchecked spread and unexplained origin underscore a world tilting toward disaster, widening the story’s canvas beyond prior battles and hinting at forces outside human control.
Summary
In the summer of 2018, wildfire erupts in the dry pastureland north of Hopland, California. Fanned by hot, desiccating winds, flames run through sere grass and into red pines, which ignite instantly.
The fire jumps natural and man-made barriers—dirt roads, creeks, highways—while aircraft dump water and foam beneath a growing thunderhead of smoke. Heat intensifies until redwoods explode as their sap boils, sending debris skyward.
By night, sparks wheel across a darkened sky like an alien constellation. The blaze persists through summer into September, consuming over six hundred square miles and killing countless animals and residents who cannot flee in time. Authorities never determine the cause.