Spring 2025

was a 9-by-10-foot combination cold storage room and fire shelter constructed of thick concrete. When he awoke to the smell of smoke that July day, Maehr was fight- ing a fever. But there was work to be done and he didn’t hesitate to pick up a shovel and get to it, snuffing out small flare-ups before they could grow. Oddly, he didn’t see the fire as an enemy. He writes, “As I began to work, I did not feel at odds with the fire. It did not seem like fighting as much as it felt like collaborating.” The fever was making labor difficult, but Maehr per- severed. When he needed sleep, the cold stor- age room provided a modicum of security; a set of SCUBA tanks with valves opened slightly pro- vided fresh air. The Soberanes fire raged for nearly three months, destroying more than 50 structures and taking one life before it was fully contained. The scars it left behind are still evident nine years later. One of Maehr’s enterprises is harvesting and selling as firewood the madrone trees dam- aged by the conflagration. Many of the pieces he delivers to homes bear black char marks. Maehr is a highly thoughtful and philosophical man who is deeply attuned to the world around him, both natural and man-made. An excerpt from his book illustrates some of the lessons that fire taught him, showing him a path forward to healing: “I can only imagine the amazingly beautiful world we could create if we put our shared attention on stewarding ourselves and this lively planet earth. We are the only living creature on the planet that can respond to the call to stewardship.We are the ones who can gain a sensitivity to the needs of the world around us and to do what is necessary to enhance life, rather than dimin- ish and take from it.We are the ones who can under- stand the subtle laws of nature and align our efforts with those laws to establish a true heaven on earth. Separating ourselves off in human-made envi- ronments may seem safer than immersing oneself in the ever-changing landscape, but I can assure you that it is in the ever-changing landscape that the universe’s secrets are revealed, the best food is found, the coolest things are seen, heard, and smelled, and life can be lived to the fullest.” The lessons contained in Maehr’s book don’t apply exclusively to those who choose to make their homes in the type of wooded and rugged terrain he opted for. Many elements of the pre- cautions he details can be utilized in more urban areas such as those devastated by the Los Angeles area fires. At the end of the day, it’s a primer—and a cautionary tale—for responsible and thoughtful ways for humans to live safely in the environment of a rapidly changing world. For more information, visit www.theearthsteward.com. “Fire on the Mountain” is available on Amazon. The aftermath of the fire on Maehr’s property and neighboring mountains. This fire taught Maehr a great respect for the forces of nature and how quickly they can destroy, creating massive destruction. Photo: Courtesy of Theo Maehr 154 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 5 Theo Maehr chronicles his work in Big Sur in a new book.