DANCES WITH FIRE

Hamberger’s memoir recounts her galvanizing experience as a firefighter during the end of the 20th century.

The author, desperately needing money for college, took a summer job in 1986 as a “hotshot,” a member of an elite mobile crew of forest-firefighters. Hamberger loved being in the forest and found the challenging job helped her gain confidence and get over her shyness. She spent six summers battling blazes throughout the American West and, occasionally, at other locations, such as Florida and Georgia. The author details her experience with the Yellowstone fires of 1988 and the Dude Fire of 1990, which tragically killed six firefighters, authoritatively describing techniques such as creating fire lines and hazards such as hollowed-out trees (called “widow-makers”) that can fall unexpectedly. Even though Hamberger was a natural athlete, running track in high school and rowing crew in college, the training and work she describes was physically grueling for her. She writes of straining to do 200 pushups, carry a 25-pound pack all day, and endure the triple-digit heat. She sums up her firefighting experience as an opportunity in which she “challenged [her]self and was challenged, in return, by the job and the experience ‘growing up’ on hotshot crews.” The author movingly recounts the dangers she faced and discusses how her faith was challenged by the deaths of fellow firefighters. As one of the few women on her crew (occasionally, she was the only woman), Hamberger also struggled to find a balance between maintaining her femininity and being one of the guys, and she writes thoughtfully about her regret over failing to fight for a better working environment for women. While her adventurous summers fighting fires are at the heart of the book, the author also fills in details about her family life, college career, and romantic relationships. (She fails to convey these aspects of her life as insightfully as she does her summer work, and these sections fall a bit flat in comparison.) The text also includes photos documenting her life and experiences.

A bracing account of a young woman forcing herself to grow up and face difficult challenges.