As always, I learned so much researching this book, and couldn’t fit it all into the story. So here is some additional information about wildfires and giant reptiles, and other facts I wanted to share:

WILDFIRES REALLY ARE GETTING MORE DESTRUCTIVE

Wildfires have always been part of nature. But since the 1980s, wildfires in California and other parts of the world have been getting bigger and more destructive. Fifteen of the twenty most destructive fires in California history have all happened since the year 2000.

Why is this?

Scientists agree that climate change is a main cause of these bigger and more destructive wildfires. Like many parts of the world, California is hotter and drier than it used to be. Hotter and drier air means forests get parched — there’s less moisture in the soil and plants. This means that fires start more easily, and burn faster.

But another cause of today’s wildfire crisis is that for more than one hundred years, we’ve been trying to put out every wildfire we can. Now scientists and experts understand that this policy was not wise. Small wildfires (and even some larger fires) are a natural part of the life of a forest. They burn away dead and diseased trees. Without these natural fires, a forest becomes overgrown, with more to burn once a wildfire starts.

THE 2018 FIRE SEASON WAS THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE IN CALIFORNIA HISTORY

California has thousands of wildfires in a typical year. Most are small and are put out quickly. What was different about 2018 was not simply that there was an especially large number of fires — about 8,000. It was that three of those fires were “megafires,” highly destructive fires that burned more than 100,000 acres.

The largest was the Mendocino Complex Fire, which burned 459,000 acres. The Carr Fire, which is the one mentioned in this book, burned 230,000 acres and destroyed 1,604 houses and buildings. The Camp Fire, which destroyed Paradise, burned 153,000 acres and was also the deadliest fire in California in fifty years — eighty-five people were killed.

In total, wildfires in California burned 1.8 million acres in 2018. That’s bigger than the state of Delaware.

Wildfires don’t only happen in California, though. They can happen anywhere there are trees and grass to burn.

California has had the most wildfires of any state in recent years, followed by Nevada and Oregon. I was surprised that Oklahoma was number four. In 2017, a megafire raged across the grassy land of Oklahoma and northern Texas, burning 781,000 acres.

And wildfires are a problem all across the world. In 2019, millions of acres in Australia burned in the country’s worst fires in nearly a century.

THE BIGGEST WILDFIRE IN US HISTORY HAPPENED IN 1910

The Great Fire of 1910, also called the Big Burn, was the biggest wildfire in American history. It destroyed three million acres, mostly in Montana and Northern Idaho. Eighty-seven people died, mostly firefighters.

The Big Burn is fascinating to learn about. If you do some research on your own, you’ll see that it changed history. It was that fire that caused US leaders to decide to fight all wildfires, no matter what (which, as you now know, was not a great idea).

Also, everyone should know about the firefighter Ed Pulaski. He helped save dozens of firefighters who were trapped in the flames by leading them into an old mine. He also invented a firefighting tool that is still used today — called the Pulaski. It’s a simple tool. One side is a small hoe that can also work as a shovel to move dirt. The other is an ax for cutting brush, limbs, and small trees. Wildland firefighters use it for making fire lines, clearing away brush, and digging up “hot potatoes,” underground roots that could reignite a wildfire that’s been put out.

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PREVENT WILDFIRES?

We can all help prevent wildfires by being careful when we are in wild places. But experts say that the most important step we can take is to allow some kinds of wildfires to burn. In California and across the West, firefighters are using what are known as “controlled burns” to thin out forests. They set these fires at special times, when winds are low and the weather isn’t too hot and dry. They let the fires burn through a small portion of a forest, to remove dead and sick trees and brush. They work carefully to make sure the fires don’t spread.

There are also steps that people in fire-prone areas can take around their homes. Many are removing trees and bushes and grasses that can catch fire. They’re replacing them with plants that don’t burn and can stop fires from spreading, like ice plants and aloe.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT WILDFIRES

• If you are camping, only make a campfire where it is permitted. Make sure your parents and helpers put out all fires before you leave.
• Talk about wildfires with your family. If you live in a fire-prone area, make a family plan. Invite a firefighter to your class to talk about how you can stay safe.
• If you see even a small fire in the wild, get away quickly and tell an adult. Remember that a small fire can become a huge fire in minutes.

And one last thing …

NEVER BUY A BIG REPTILE AS A PET

I loved creating the characters of Bubbles and King Kong. The most important thing I learned is that these magnificent animals should not be kept as pets.

Large reptiles animals are hard to care for, which is why so many are abandoned in the wild. Most of these creatures don’t survive. But in some parts of the country they not only survive — they thrive. And this has caused some big problems.

In Florida, for instance, there are an estimated two hundred thousand Burmese pythons on the loose in the Everglades, basically devouring everything in sight — bird eggs, other reptiles, rabbits, foxes, even deer. Some animals have vanished from the Everglades entirely because of the pythons’ presence.

If you love reptiles, show your love by learning all you can about them and letting them live in the wild, where they belong.