The Cold Canyon Fire Journals: Green Shoots and Silver Linings in the Ashes

by Robin Lee Carlson

When the nature reserve at Cold Canyon went up in flames—a casualty of California’s raging fire seasons—Robin Lee Carlson embarked on a five-year journey to learn the legacy of the burn. Spurred by scientific curiosity, Carlson’s deep exploration of this fire-swept ecosystem unearths view-altering revelations about nature’s wild wisdom. Her transformative story of fire as a force for renewal underscores what scientists are urgently working to understand: that wildfire functions as an elemental power that does not destroy the diverse habitats of California but nourishes them. Richly illustrated in pen, ink, and watercolor, this snapshot of wildlife emerging from the ashes revels in the cyclical wonder of our wild places. Carlson’s artistic and scientific journey ultimately leads her (and us) to a new understanding of how we must live in relationship to the land. With fire suppression and climate change undermining the regenerative work of wildfire, Carlson’s story of ecological kinship is an urgent one—one that shows us how cultivating intimacy with our natural world teaches us what we need to do to sustain it.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature

288 pages, Paperback

Published August 2, 2022

Reviews

[Michelle Fullner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cold Canyon Fire Journals accomplished the rare feat of capturing both my head and my heart. As a Californian deeply in love with the land, I regularly experience gnawing fears of impending disaster and environmental degradation that threaten the home I love. The beautiful thing about The Cold Canyon Fire Journals, though, is that Carlson neither leaves you alone in those fears nor blindly overlooks them. Instead, she draws on her background as both a biologist and a lover of the natural world to explore and understand a burned landscape that at first appears to be without life or hope but that continues to surprise at every turn, and she captures these revelations in an elegant interweaving of illustrations and prose that bring the text to life.

Throughout the course of the book, the reader gets to discover the abundance of life in a burned ecosystem alongside Robin, and the whole concept of fire-as-destroyer is thrown into question.

I wholeheartedly recommend The Cold Canyon Fire Journals to anyone who is curious about the role of fire in ecosystems today and to anyone who longs to see this planet thriving.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

the writing was a little repetitive but I learned a ton of cool stuff about ecology and really liked the water color illustrations- more books should have illustration

[Mitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

This expensive book is nicely presented with lots of ink and watercolor illustrations of plants and animals, done well by the author.

Unfortunately, the accompanying notes are well nigh illegible.

That is not the biggest problem with the book by some distance, however.

Beyond the observations and information the author presents about Cold Canyon's ecological processes and interactions with fires, she has a point to make about loss of diversity due to too frequent fires and how controlled fires are helpful in restoring the balances we've lost by suppressing the recurring fires natural to the area.

And boy does she ever hammer those points into the ground...over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. The book would have been much improved by cutting down the repetitions by about 80%.

Additionally, the author states the importance of words, but... She states in a few places that fire is flat out not a destroyer, but a renewing force- and later flat out calls it a destroyer (as we all know it actually is...). This is not the careful use of words her subject demands.

Additionally, she praises the use of controlled fires and bypasses the fact that controlled fires are dangerous- winds can blow them out of control, certainly. She glosses over this without a backward glance.

She also lets her feelings overshadow her scientific writing quite a bit.

I'd say this book could have been much improved with the help of a strong editor.

[Marthine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a shining example of how the work and art of nature journaling drives observation, engagement, and exploration. From five years of hiking, drawing, thinking, and researching, this beautiful narrative about what it means to face change and loss in our beloved landscapes emerged. Told through a both scientifically informed and personal lens, Robin Lee Carlson's exploration of Cold Canyon will resonate with everyone who fears the change that fire brings as its footprint in the West broadens.

For half a decade, Carlson studies the recovery of her one beloved piece of California's fire-prone landscape. We learn through her explorations, research, and interviews how habitat succession is showing patterns of natural change. Then, in 2020, fire struck again, and the impact of faster, fiercer fire cycles begins to take hold, a prescient glimpse into the impact of the drier hotter tinderbox climate change will bring to our doorsteps.

Reading this book forever changed how I will understand fire, though I live far from her particular site of observation. Instead of mourning the loss of mature trees on a favorite hiking path burnt through during fire season, I now look for what comes next. Life is never static, always changing, and this book is a guide to understanding that our attachment to keeping things as they are is actually damaging an ecology made to burn, and our insistence on seeing the aftermath of fire as devastation means we dont' have the patience to wait and see what happens in 2, 3 or 10 years after a fire.

The author interviews fire experts, lichen scientists, land managers, and observes cultural burns. She weaves stories, research, art, and knowledge together to create a unique, accessible, and immersive guide to understanding fire on the land. She also strives to understand fire and this place through the nonhuman residents. How does a tree experience fire? What about a newt? If a plant's leaves burn but its roots survive, it resprouts-- it knows it was never just the part we humans can see.

Humble and awed, Robin Lee Carlson shows us how to come to nature with a beginner's mind, open to all it has to teach us.

I don't know if there are any other Friday Night Lights fans who also love nature writing, but to me, Robin Lee Carlson's book epitomizes the motto of Coach Taylor: Clear eyes, full heart, can't lose.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this lovely book for those interested in ecology, nature drawing, wildfire (including indigenous cultural burning). The author has a wonderful way of tying those elements together. I love her style of drawing as much as her writing.
I definitely want to visit the Cold Canyon UC Reserve at some point.

[Carlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and an interesting look into local ecology.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a healing balm for those that have lost their favorite places to wildfire and worried about what happened to all the plants and animals. Reading this book was also like going for a relaxing walk in nature with a knowledgeable friend.

I like how the book is organized. Instead of going strictly chronological with the changes post-fire, Carlson has chapters that focus on a different category: wildflowers, pollinators, mammals, etc.. This way you can learn how each group of wildlife is adapted to fire and/or how they were affected by the fire. This made it easier to absorb rather than constantly switching from different groups of organisms and trying to keep track of it in your head.

Carlson's journal pages appear throughout the book. Her sketches are beautiful and fresh, never overworked and very inspiring. I appreciated the type of paper they used for the printing. It seems high quality and allows the colors to almost glow off the page. I enjoy nature journaling, and looking at her pages has made me want to study the areas around me more closely and think about the relationships of different species.

My brother lost his home in a 2017 wildfire. Three years later, it was emotional to visit their neighborhood that burned. Even though there were a lot of rebuilt homes, you could see the scars of the fire. A lot of the redwood trees resembled Italian cypresses: tall poles with short green foliage.

I recently visited his home shortly after reading this book. My brother pointed to a shrub that looked bushy and healthy. He said it one of the few plants in their yard that survived after the fire. Right after the fire, all the landscaping looked completely burned. But later when they saw the yard, they were shocked to see the shrub starting to regrow. It turns out that the shrub was a manzanita, one of the shrubs that Carlson talks about as being able to survive fire. Despite being completely burnt above ground, apparently this manzanita had a burl and healthy root system that survived below ground. The burl is what allowed the manzanita to resprout after the fire.

I learned so much from this book!

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will likely appeal to a very specific niche of readers. A familiarity and interest in Cold Canyon in California is a benefit.
I expected more of an art and nature journal after following the artist on Instagram for awhile. I found the nature journal notes to be hard to read due to the author’s handwriting. However the artwork was the highlight for me.
It’s a bit of a mix between a naturalist’s journey as a local natural area recovers from a wildfire, her personal journey, who she meets along the way and the research they’re doing, her personal feelings and thoughts about prescribed fire. It felt like a lot of words about one Canyon.
Overall, it’s not what I expected, but for a very specific reader this will probably be very impactful.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a beautiful example of the value in knowing a particular place well. Robin Lee Carlson displays a wonderful familiarity with the Cold Canyon Preserve in California, and this familiarity allows her to chronicle the changes to that landscape in the wake of two wildfires that burn through the area with skill and intimacy. In words and paintings, Carlson shares technical and personal experiences and knowledge of this area she knows so well with such care and attention to detail that it brings the reader in and makes them feel as if they themselves are connected to Cold Canyon. It is also inspiring to see the results of the author's connection with Cold Canyon and makes the reader start to think about forming their own connection with a part of their own local landscape.

[Torie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful sketches, and an excellent look at a post-fire ecosystem. Would recommend for any fellow nature journalers, or just anyone who likes reading nature books.I'm a big fan of John Muir Laws and the flavor of nature journalists his resources have helped to build, but the nature writing itself in this book wasn't particularly beautiful. It was clear, and to-the-point, but not nearly as evocative of 'the moment' as Carlson's art is.

[Josh Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the 2015 California Wragg Fire swept through Carlson's favorite local nature reserve, she spent a remarkable five years walking through the canyon, observing everything she saw and experienced with a sketchbook, pen and watercolors in hand. The post-fire revelations the Canyon revealed about fire and habitats, flora and fauna (the miraculous California Newts!) are nothing short of amazing. The book has helped me understand fire and ecosystems in a whole new way.

[Ba · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book for its illustrations, science, and reflections of the transformational power fire has on the landscape. As someone who has grown up with wildfires in California, this solidified my belief in the importance of fire in the California landscape. In addition, how personal the writing was folded in my appreciation of fire and fire ecology.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would think that if you are from the Winters area, this book would be a wonderful read. I’d love something like this about the Rim Fire and the recovery we see every time we drive to Yosemite. Fire is a truly marvelous thing and the new vistas and the renewing of the earth along Highway 120 a wonderful look into the healing power of nature.