PyroCulture
Inspiring a new fire culture.
Ecological fire management is a holistic philosophy that, in practice, will be as much an art as a science, will need a fusion of the heart with the hands, and will be motivated by a deep love for service to all people and the planet.
A paradigm shift needs more than a reform in policy, it needs a revolution in culture in both the wildland fire community and wider society.
This section contains artwork, short stories, poems, and songs meant to inspire cultural creations reflecting the new fire paradigm.
Email us your art, short stories, poetry, and songs for PyroCulture.
Visual Arts
Fire can be a visually stunning experience. We are fortunate to have members of our community with the talent to depict fire in visual art, in a variety of mediums and moods.
Below, you can see some incredible pen and ink drawings from FireGen’s Co-Founder and Research Coordinator Kyle Trefny. Summer 2021 was Kyle’s first season in wildland fire, and the contemplative, transcendent drawings that came out of his experience have the ability to transport you into a moment in time.
A firefighter from Oregon makes use of service in Montana. The current approach to management causes fire responders to leave home for up to months on end, separated from their loved ones, partners, and/or children.
A group of firefighters takes their break in a dry riverbed. Alongside decades of excessive suppression, drought is another factor causing hazardous fuels to build up in landscapes across the West.
Firefighters rest in the heat. Many places experiencing intense burns are also undergoing severe and at times record temperatures, driven by climate change. This kind of weather intensifies an already demanding workplace.
A self portrait with a skipper butterfly that landed on my hand beside the truck. Assignments for the resources on our fire involved the driving through, bulldozing and clear-cutting of many areas home to insects and other interesting creatures.
Contact us to feature your visual art in Pyroculture.
These short stories have its origin in a parable that we may have read as children, when the hearth fire was burning and we were open to a cautionary tale or a heroic epic, perhaps both. These classic tales are retold with wildland fire cast as the agent for change and redemption. Each is presented with artwork from our friend, Catalonian artist, Josep Serra Tarragon, who has done fire artwork for the Art & Fire Collection maintained by the Pau Costa Foundation.
Contact us to feature your short story in Pyroculture.
Chartoons
Cartoons are a great way to convey important messages to broad audiences in a way that can overcome cognitive resistance to alternative science, policy, or political themes. FUSEE’s own cartoonist, “Letter Burn,” has created a series of “Chartoons” that provide important lessons on fire ecology, climate change, and fire policy that are ideal to share with colleagues via email or the office bulletin board.
Contact us to feature your cartoons in Pyroculture.
Hot-Licks - Fiery Tunes
Light My Fire
The Doors
Play With Fire
The Rolling Stones
Fire
The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
You’re on Fire They Might be Giants
I’m On Fire
Bruce Springsteen
White Fire
Angel Olsen
Disco Inferno The Trammps
When a Fire Starts to Burn Disclosure
Burning Down the House Talking Heads
Fire
Jimi Hendrix
Fire On The Mountain
Grateful Dead
Hearts on Fire Passenger
World on Fire Sarah McLachlan
Wildfire Michael Martin Murphey & the Rio Grande Band
Ring of Fire
Johnny Cash
Flaming Youth
KISS
Girl on Fire Alicia Keys
Wildfire John Mayer
Contact us to feature your song suggestions in Pyroculture.
FUSEE's Freida FireHawk by Miriam Valentine
Fan the Flames by Asante Riverwind
(Inspired by Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”)