Educational Media Reviews Online

Era of Megafires is a live recorded presentation from conservationist Dr. Paul Hessburg as he discusses the increasing prevalence of wildfires in the United States. Dr. Hessburg utilizes photographs, video segments, terminology, definitions, graphs, facts, animations, dates and locations of real wilderness fire disasters as well as fictional iconic woodland spokesman, Smokey the Bear to explore this topic. This piece is informative.

Furthermore, Hessburg explains the pervasiveness of fires in specific regions, the economic impact of wildfires and offers intriguing methods to safely counteract damages. Additionally, Hessburg explores the history of fires in forests which helps set baselines of normalcy for the audience. The film is thorough and provides understanding to a novice of this topic.

Moreover, Era of Megafires has a similar format to a TED Talk. It is apparent in the cinematography and that it is being filmed before an audience. In addition, Dr. Hessburg established the tone of the film by explaining wildfire issues with sincerity and concern. Some viewers may find the plodding pace of the presentation tedious. Yet, there are several avenues of discussion throughout the piece. Era of Megafires is best suited for public libraries with non-fiction book groups, as well as academic and government libraries. Intended audiences are undergraduate researchers or members of the general public seeking to become conversant citizens on the issues of wildfires.