Dances with Fire

She became a rookie hotshot at the age of eighteen. Fighting forest fires in canyons and mountains throughout the West, and even in the sawgrass seas of Florida's Everglades, Kate Hamberger spent six summers facing physical and mental challenges few are called to meet. She describes working alongside veteran firefighters in a dangerous, male-dominated profession as they all undertook the thrilling and often precarious job of fighting wildfires.

In this riveting memoir, Kate recounts the fires she and her crewmates worked to control while often calling upon their physical reserves to survive. She forged close relationships with extraordinary people in the most intense of environments.

With great honesty and eloquence, she also shares of falling in love and the missteps made when you realize life has only prepared you for so much. She credits her faith with getting her through times of fear, loneliness, and uncertainty as she becomes a veteran firefighter herself.

In Dances with Fire, Kate relates the specifics of such infamous fires as the Yellowstone Fires of '88 and the Dude Fire of '90. She also recounts her days of working with the Prineville Hotshots before they left for the devastating and deadly South Canyon Fire of '94.

Dances with Fire is a finalist for the 2025 Will Rogers Medallion Award for western biographies and memoirs. A classic, picaresque tale of adventure and love, triumph and heartbreak, Kate Hamberger's story of life on and off a hotshot crew during her summers of fire is a must read.