David J. Strohmaier is an author and former firefighter living in Missoula, Montana. He holds a M.S. in Environmental Studies from The University of Montana, and a M.A. in Religion from Yale University Divinity School.

He is recognized for his nuanced understanding of the intricate relationship between humans and fire, particularly in the American West. In 2024 he published “The Seasons of Fire,” a thought-provoking exploration of wildfires, and in this new Nawakum edition further relects on the nature of fire and our connections to it, past and present. With a career that encompasses years of hands-on firefighting, Strohmaier provides his own unique perspective on wildfires, drawing from his firsthand experiences and insights into the ecological and emotional impacts of fire on the landscape, and the communities it impacts.

Contributing his artistry to the edition is Rik Olson, a Northern California native, who received his B.F.A. in Illustration from the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. He continues to work, as he has for over forty-five years, as a freelance illustrator, painter and printmaker. He is best known for his work in wood engraving, which he learned from Barry Moser and John DePol. Here he has added mezzotints to his repetoire. His work has been published in over two hundred books and this is his second Nawakum collaboration, the first being Herman Melville’s Norfolk Isle and the Chola Widow. Olson’s studio lies in wonderful Western Sonoma County, less than 10 miles as the crow flies from where on October 7, 2017 the Tubbs Fire burned all of Nawakum Press to the ground.

Fire On the Hills is published in an edition of 33 copies: 30 are boxed and numbered as a Deluxe Edition, 3 are boxed and lettered as an Artist’s Edition with an original mezzotint plate. 100% of profit from the edition will be donated to The Western Dry Forests and Fire Program at The Nature Conservancy. Expected 2nd quarter, 2026.