Published: April 12, 2001

John Maclean, author of "Fire on the Mountain," will give a talk on "Storm King: The Fire and Its Legacy" on Tuesday, April 24, at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Maclean, a veteran journalist for the Chicago Tribune, will speak at 7 p.m. in room G1B20 of the Duane Physics Building in an event co-sponsored by the CU-Boulder Center of the American West and the Boulder County Wildland Fire Cooperators.

Maclean will talk about the lessons of the now infamous 1994 Storm King Mountain fire in Colorado that claimed the lives of 14 firefighters. He will discuss how well the changes in firefighting policy and techniques that were developed in the aftermath of Storm King worked in Nevada's 1999 Sadler Fire, when six firefighters became trapped. He also will address how those lessons were applied during the 2000 fire season.

Maclean was a reporter, writer and editor at the Chicago Tribune for 30 years before resigning in 1995 to write "Fire on the Mountain." The book was a national bestseller and received the Mountains and Plains Booksellers award as the best non-fiction book of 1999. Books will be available for sale and signing at the event.

Maclean assisted in the posthumous publication of the book "Young Men and Fire" written by his father, Norman Maclean, and continues to write about fire and other topics for publications as diverse as the New York Times and Wildland Firefighter magazine. He currently is working on a book of stories.

The Duane Physics Building is located on Colorado Avenue just south of Folsom Stadium. Enter through the north door, across from the stadium, and look for room G1B20 toward the left.

For more information call the Center of the American West at (303) 492-4879 or visit .