Writer-firefighter Peter M. Leschak reads excerpts from Ghosts of the Fireground, his new book recounting a legendary wildfire and his own backcountry battles.

Peter M. Leschak leads a double life. Seven months out of the year, he battles forest fires in the U.S. West. The remaining three months, he writes at his Minnesota home about the joy, duty, and sense of purpose he draws from fighting the brutal element.

To date, Leschak has published five books, including his most recent—Ghosts of the Fireground: A Season of Revelation in the Calling of a Wildland Firefighter, excerpted in Adventure's August issue.

Here, Leschak reads sections from Ghosts of the Fireground, which blends a riveting account of Wisconsin's 1871 Peshtigo Fire—one of the United States' deadliest—with his own adventures on the fire line.

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August 2002:
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