In this lawless and cutthroat world, fire is a real danger. It is always in the background, waiting to destroy. The “pyros” in this world use a drug that makes setting fires feel more euphoric than sex, and these people wield fire as a weapon to hurt others and steal from them. Fire upends Lauren’s world, killing her family and most of her community. As Lauren and her companions travel through northern California, they know that lighting campfires is dangerous because they will attract dangerous people. They also know that fires in the distance mean more destroyed communities. Some of their fellow travelers will head for those fires to see what they can gain, but Lauren knows doing that will get them into trouble: “One small fire was the weakness that gave scavengers permission to devastate the community—which they were no doubt doing now” (234).

At the end of the story, paints and pyros take revenge on the Earthseed group by setting fires along the highway, and the group barely makes it through. When they finally make it to their destination, Bankole’s property, fire has destroyed his family as well.

While fire often symbolizes destruction, death, and uncontrolled wildness in this world, it also represents new beginnings.