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description=Historical and current perspectives on conceptions of wilderness, ecology, and fire-suppression, written by River Selby, author of HOTSHOT, doctoral candidate, and former firefighter. Click to read WILDERNESS, by River Selby (they/them), a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.;
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about wilderness home notes archive leaderboard about subscribe sign in welcome to wilderness wilderness is a newsletter about colonization wildfires ecology culture and current events written by river selby a former hotshot and wildland firefighter from long form series to interviews with ecologists firefighters and indigenous fire experts to deep dives with citations and news bits wilderness is here to educate its readers with writing that s engaging and informative wilderness is here to help deconstruct the constructed conceptions of wilderness and untouched lands that have led us to this moment in history subscribe a nuanced experienced perspective my first year as a hotshot wildland firefighter was in 2002 i d already worked two fire seasons before that i was the only person on my crew who wasn t a man the crew i worked on was steeped in macho fragile masculinity a phrase i wish i d known then much of wildland firefighting and the fire suppression industrial complex still exists in that toxic framework and fire suppression itself was founded on a framework that deemed indigenous people savages and overlooked sophisticated kin centric ways of tending the land the effects of this have been and continue to be catastrophic our planet forests and people need something different but how can we change if we don t know the possibilities the history and science of wildland fire and the concept of wilderness and nature as a whole is complex and nuanced we are constantly inundated with news about the planet s decline climate change and catastrophic natural events like wildfires wildfires unlike other natural disasters are perceived as preventable since the arrival of europeans fire has been perceived as disastrous and destructive and nature itself perceived as separate from civilized humans meant to be dominated and controlled for our benefit many people have endured trauma and tragedy as catastrophic wildfires razed their communities reportage is focused on this tragedy ballooning the specter of wildfire and increasing public outcries for suppression but we ve been suppressing fires for over a century is that really the answer here and is climate change the only driver of these fires no and no subscribe did you know that indigenous people throughout the world have used fire as an ecological and cultural tool for thousands of years or that many landscapes and ecosystems throughout the united states and the world are especially adapted to fire and thrive when fire is consistently present many not all people reporting on fire are not only undereducated about wildland fire as a cultural ecological and historical phenomenon they haven t seen fires up close as a former hotshot with nearly a decade of experience working in wildland fire i ve spent years of my life intimately and inextricably connected to fire years of my life covered in soot dirt ash and grime with my skin flushed from the heat of nearby fires my writing is informed by these years and by my education in fire ecology history and colonization share fires i report on fire and fire history from a marginalized perspective and prioritize perspectives more marginalized than my own while most narratives surrounding wildland fire are written by white men some of the most important narratives are those of indigenous americans and women i seek to prioritize these perspectives with your help i can provide in depth histories highlight important voices of wildland fire and ecology and bring something new to your inbox on a weekly basis through reading this newsletter you ll not only understand more about wildland fire but about the united states and the world ecology and history by becoming a paying subscriber you support my writing and this mission thank you so much for your support subscribe working with the hotshots in 2003 in oregon at 23 years old who am i in 2000 i began working as a wildland firefighter on a contract crew out of eugene oregon for two summers i roamed the west on crews and engines contracted out by the government then in 2002 i was hired onto an elite firefighting crew in california called a hotshot crew i was the only person who wasn t a man the first femme they d had on the crew in years it was a shock but i loved the work on our first roll i got poison oak all over my body which would become a common theme of fighting fire in southern california i was hired as a permanent and trained to be a squad boss but left because of harassment on the tail end of my second year which was heartbreaking for me i worked as a hotshot for four years in california and colorado i also worked for the park service in alaska as a helicopter crew member i gained a lot of perspectives by working in many different geographical areas but i didn t start writing about my experiences until i went back to school at 32 years old i graduated with my ba in english at 35 years old and with my mfa in creative writing fiction from syracuse university at 38 years old i am the first person in my family to graduate high school and the first ever to go to a four year institution i come from a working class background and was raised by a single mom this is one of the lenses through which i see wildland fire and ecology i am also queer and nonbinary always looking for angles outside the mainstream and always looking for innovative solutions my hope is to bring new perspectives and ideas to my readers and to create an inclusive community currently i am a phd candidate in english at florida state university where i study english with a focus on nonfiction and eco criticism wilderness is a reader supported publication to receive new posts and support my work consider becoming a free or paid subscriber subscribe subscribe to wilderness historical and current perspectives on conceptions of wilderness ecology and fire suppression written by river selby author of hotshot doctoral candidate and former firefighter subscribe people 2026 anastasia selby privacy terms 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