There may be no greater representation of California’s ecological crisis than its fires. In recent years, they have become larger and deadlier than ever before, forcing us to reckon with how we have failed the land and the incredible cost of that negligence. Obi Kaufmann’s lushly illustrated new book, The State of Fire: Why California Burns, explores how we got here and how we may get out.

The story of California fires is surprising and ancient. Fire has always played a vital role in our ecosystem—it fertilizes the soil, creates easier hunting grounds for certain animals, and gives space for plants to root. In short: life flourishes after fires. But the fires of today are different. Centuries of logging, a lack of controlled burns, and the spread of invasive plant species has given rise to the gigafire and its corollary problems: massive smoke covers, erosion, mass death events in animal populations.

In this new book, Obi Kaufmann delves into the history, science, and future of fire ecology. With Kaufmann’s signature artistry and deep research this book looks at some of the most devastating fires of modern history and also the many ways that our ecosystem benefits from fire. It’s an ultimately hopeful book. One that points to the many ways that we may coexist with fire and responsibly steward California into a more balanced future.

“For every point of despair,” Obi says, “I have a counterpoint of hope for the survival and restoration of the natural world. … As long as there is time, there is hope.”

Obi Kaufmann is the author of The California Field Atlas (2017, #1 San Francisco Chronicle Best Seller), The State of Water (2019), The Forests of California (2020), The Coasts of California (2022) and The Deserts of California (2023), all published by Heyday. When he is not backpacking, you can find the painter-poet at home in the East Bay.

Steve Wasserman, raised in Berkeley and a Cal graduate, is the publisher of Heyday. He has held prominent roles, including editor-at-large for Yale University Press and editorial director at Times Books/Random House. Wasserman has worked with many authors, publishing works such as Greil Marcus’s The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Ten Songs and Martha Hodes’s Mourning Lincoln. He was the editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review (1996–2005) and a key figure in founding the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Wasserman also co-founded the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities and has written for numerous publications, including The Nation, The New Republic and The Times Literary Supplement.

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