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StudioTulsa

"Fire in Paradise: An American Tragedy"

Public Radio Tulsa | By Rich Fisher

Published May 13, 2020 at 1:39 PM CDT

Aired on Wednesday, May 13th.

Our guests are the journalists Alastair Gee and Dani Anguiano, who are also the co-authors of "Fire in Paradise: An American Tragedy." The book documents the super-destructive wildfire that consumed the town of Paradise, California, in early November of 2018, when a community of 27,000 people was swallowed by the ferocious Camp Fire. "Fire in Paradise" offers a moving, far-reaching narrative based upon hundreds of interviews with residents, firefighters and police, and scientific experts. Gee and Anguiano are California-based journalists who have reported on Paradise and its surrounding area since the day the fire began. Their book shows us the heroics of the first responders, the miraculous escapes of those who got away, and the horrors experienced by those who were trapped in Paradise. Per Kirkus, in a starred review: "Powerful.... A riveting narrative that provides further compelling evidence for the urgency of environmental stewardship."

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StudioTulsa wildfires Nonfiction American Journalism wildfire California Natural Disasters Journalism Wildlife Conservation and Preservation Firefighters Emergency Response and 911 Matters Environmental Protection

Rich Fisher

Rich Fisher passed through KWGS about thirty years ago, and just never left. Today, he is the general manager of Public Radio Tulsa, and the host of KWGS’s public affairs program, StudioTulsa, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary in August 2012 . As host of StudioTulsa, Rich has conducted roughly four thousand long-form interviews with local, national, and international figures in the arts, humanities, sciences, and government. Very few interviews have gone smoothly. Despite this, he has been honored for his work by several organizations including the Governor's Arts Award for Media by the State Arts Council, a Harwelden Award from the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa, and was named one of the “99 Great Things About Oklahoma” in 2000 by Oklahoma Today magazine.

See stories by Rich Fisher

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