​One of the largest and most destructive wildfires in California’s recorded history, the Cedar Fire ravaged the San Diego area in late 2003, burning 273,246 acres, destroying 2,820 homes and businesses, and killing 15 people. 

In a new introduction to the 20th anniversary edition of ​The Fire Outside My Window, author Sandra Millers Younger reveals lessons learned from the historic California fire that took her home and signaled a new era in fire and climate history--the age of modern megafires.

Younger's own miraculous saga of escape, ruin and renewal unifies a tapestry of experiences that takes readers into the heart of the epic firefight with stories of firefighters scrambling to combat a disaster bigger than they’d ever imagined, and civilian survivors racing desperately through heat and smoke to escape the flames. 

​The Fire Outside My Window is a riveting and nuanced tale that captures the intensity of a catastrophic wildfire, honors the victims lost to its fury, and celebrates the human spirit's innate capacity to triumph over adversity.