The Esperanza Fire: Arson, Murder, and the Agony of Engine 57
Maclean (The Thirtymile Fire, 2007) returns to a setting he knows all too well: wildfires and those who fight and investigate them. In clear and precise prose, he lays out the facts about the 2006 Esperanza Fire in Southern California that killed five U.S. Forest Service firefighters. There are a lot of voices to consider here, from those physically near the doomed men in their final moments to those up the chain of command and the investigators who tracked the arsonist. Esperanza is notable for both its loss of life and because it led to the first successful prosecution of an arsonist for a wildfire. Maclean thus treats his subject as a serious police procedural, giving readers the lay of the land, documenting communication as the fire was fought, and following up with everyone involved. It is a truly exhaustive analysis from the fire through the conviction. This is as thorough and gripping an account as could be hoped for, but it’s also a very human one. For CSI-, Bones-, and NCIS-loving readers, it is an engrossing read. --Colleen Mondor