A Fire Story

Brian Fies wrote this graphic  memoir of his family's experience losing their home to the California wildfires in October 2017.  The fires destroyed over 6,200 homes and killed 44 people.  Fellow artists sent him art supplies and he began a comic while the fires were still burning.  He posted the comic on his blog and it went viral.  It was featured on CNN and in The Washington Post.

Fies' wife Karen woke up at 1:30 a.m. on October 9, 2017 smelling smoke and thought that it was a fire in Calistoga, twenty miles away.  When she looked out the window and saw a glowing sky they both jumped into action and packed what they thought were their most treasured possessions and left, thinking though that they would be returning to their home.  They found out later that their home of twenty years was gone an hour after they left. The Fies traveled to Karen's office to stay for a few days as she held a job in emergency management and, as such, had a small apartment.  Later they traveled to their adult twin daughters' home to stay and began a two year process of rebuilding their lives.

The book also tells the story of five other individuals but the Fies' story continues to be told throughout the book.  While the artwork in the book is light due to its color scheme the heart wrenching emotions of going through this type of experience is evident. Fies chose his words carefully in telling his story.  He also used a fluorescent palette in the novel which was reminiscent of the highlighters that he originally used in his comic. Each color is used in various shades which I found to be attractive.

If it is possible to do justice on telling a story about a catastrophic fire in graphic novel format, this is it. The poignancy of the words written were perfect to recreate the emotions that he felt as he relived each part of his story.  I was touched by it, never understanding before how losing everything you own in a fire changes a person.  This is a must read.