“Bill Matthias shows how a courageous band of volunteers stood up to one of the most powerful forces of nature to save people’s homes and lives. Monster Fire tells the incredible story of a modern conflagration that opened an era of fires in the Great North Woods. Anyone with a cabin on a lake will want to hear its cautionary tale.” (Rocky Barker, author of Scorched Earth: How the Fires of Yellowstone Changed America)
“In Monster Fire at Minong, Bill Matthias has captured not only the destructive fury of the fire itself, but the anxious urgency and high stakes that face the folks responsible for taming the beast. It is the intriguing human side of fire suppression that people may be less familiar with, and Bill sheds light on the acute stress associated with that effort. It makes for a fascinating read." (Blair Anderson, Chief, Forest Fire Management, Wisconsin Division of Forestry)
“The fire seemed to have a life of its own, and I recall wondering how a bunch of puny humans could possibly deal with such a monster. Bill Matthias has captured that feeling of awe and dread in his wonderful account of a historic time in northwestern Wisconsin history. . . . If you were there, it is like reliving the moment, and if you were not there, this is a story that will capture you and not let you go until you’ve finished the final sentence.” (Bill Thornley, editor, Spooner Advocate, and teenage firefighter on the Five Mile Tower Fire)
“Matthias evokes the searing heat and the ravenous fury of flames as hundreds of men and machines were mobilized in a feverish fight to save homes and lives. Within the drama of human sacrifice needed to tame the fiery beast, he has chronicled the techniques of modern-day forest firefighting, many of which evolved from lessons learned in that monster fire. All that is missing is the smell of smoke.” (Earl Thayer, retired, Board of Directors, Wisconsin Lakes Association)
“A well-balanced account of a past event and its impact upon the present.” (James R. Miller, retired, Wisconsin DNR Fire Control)