“a powerful work of investigative journalism about a particularly vulnerable segment of the population"

“a gripping exposé"

KIRKUS REVIEWS

This work of investigative non-fiction tells the dramatic story of hundreds of senior citizens left in the path of a ferocious firestorm and what the quest for accountability reveals about the increasing risks to our most vulnerable population.

The narrative revisits the horrors of 2017 but also asks the reader to look to the future and consider how their community’s most vulnerable will fare as ten thousand Baby Boomers retire each day, the for-profit assisted living industry rapidly expands, and the climate becomes more volatile. If this travesty can happen at high-end senior living complexes, it can happen anywhere.

From October 2021 through publication in October 2023 I worked as contributing author and editor on "Inflamed: Abandonment, Heroism and Outrage in Wine Country's Deadliest Firestorm." My work included original writing, developmental and structural editing, line editing, copyediting and proofreading. I also participated in interviews, managed source documents and listened to hours upon hours of 911 tape while my toddler slept in the next room. 

Just after midnight on October 9, 2017, as one of the nation’s deadliest and most destructive firestorms swept over California’s Wine Country, hundreds of elderly residents from two posh senior living facilities were caught in its path. The frailest were blind, in wheelchairs, or diagnosed with dementia, and their community quickly transformed from a palatial complex that pledged to care for them to one that threatened to entomb them. The rescue of the final 105 seniors left behind on an inflamed hillside depended not on employees, but strangers whose lives intersected in a riveting tale of terror and heroism. Headlines blamed caregivers for abandonment and neglect, but the truth proved far more complex — leading to a battle for accountability that stretched from the courtroom to the state legislature, and ultimately, to the ballot box.

"Abandonment, Heroism, and Outrage in Wine Country’s Deadliest Firestorm" is the gripping and emotional narrative detailing what happened to these seniors, employees, and rescuers before, during, and after the Tubbs Fire decimated portions of Santa Rosa, including Oakmont Senior Living Villa Capri and part of Varenna at Fountaingrove.

"The book combined strong investigative journalism with captivating literary journalism, engaging the reader with strong storytelling. ...The book lets journalism do the talking.

- Judges, Investigative Reporters & Editors, 2023 Book of the Year

"Inflamed...is a horrifying and gripping tale.  ...I was reminded of Spotlight in terms of journalistic dedication as I made it to the end of the book.

The writing is superb - from the first chapter I was hooked."

- Christina Haas, via Amazon

"[The authors] have done meticulous research into a very complicated story with literally dozens of participants. Even if you think you know all about the 2017 Sonoma County fire, you will learn a lot. But this is more than informative: it's a gripping, hour-by-hour chronicle of life and death heroism (and abandonment). Anybody in fire country, anybody who has an aging friend or relative, anyone who is likely to get old, should read this and take its lessons to heart."

- Tim Stafford, via Amazon

"Amazing piece of journalism. ...The book shows the faults of senior living with possible solutions. I recommend this book to anyone who is planning on going into senior living. I live in Sonoma County and read the Pulitzer Prize winning Press Democrat as this happened. This book is a great example of the beauty and usefulness of journalism .

- Seiglinde, via Goodreads

"Inflamed is an extremely well-researched non-fiction book that reads like a fast-paced nail-biting thriller. 

As the detailed account of that night unfolded, I was riveted and also outraged by the narrative. The authors do an amazing job of laying out the timeline of events and showcase the amazing heroics of ordinary family members who rushed in to evacuate their love ones and stayed at their own risk to help other residents. The authors also captured the shock frenzy and apocalyptic energy.... 

A must read book for all of us who lived through that night and I highly recommend it to a wider audience."

- Nancy Johnson, via Amazon

"I found this book to be well researched, and full of personal statements and sentiments about members of the community and the facilities. This book really made you feel tense with the people in the book and enraged at the abandonment and mistreatment of the people in the facilities."

- Stefanie Robinson, via Goodreads

"All I can say is wow. This nonfiction account of hundreds of senior citizens left behind in the path of a raging inferno is a masterclass in investigative journalism. Belden and Gullixson pull no punches in exposing the corporate missteps that exacerbated an already tragic situation, while also highlighting the extraordinary bravery of those who fought to survive. The story is as horrifying as it is inspiring."

- Noelle Ihli, via Goodreads

"Tragic & terrifying, astonishing & aggravating, harrowing & heartbreaking, life-affirming and frustrating beyond measure, this thoroughly-researched, excruciatingly-documented narrative is the stuff of both nightmares and awards!"

- Therese E. Jennings, via Amazon

"Wow. Just, wow. It is unbelievable that this is a true story. The account is written like a thriller novel that kept me on the edge of my seat from the prologue. I highly recommend this book for so many reasons - as a reminder not to make assumptions, a tale about the importance of advocating for yourself and for others, as hope that there are true heroes among us, and simply as a great read."

- Allison, via Goodreads

"Wow -- Be careful when you pick this book up, because you may not be able to put it down! But that's not the best part. The best part is the truth that comes to light: The heroic deeds, and the not-so-much. Required reading for anyone who wants to be an informed citizen, particularly in Sonoma County!

- Drew Harden, via Goodreads