Peter Facinelli may be best known as an actor from his breakout role in "Can't Hardly Wait" or his vampiric patriarch in the "Twilight" franchise, but he has slowly been working behind the camera, writing and directing films like "Loosies" and "The Vanished." His new film "On Fire," co-directed with Nick Lyon, is a dramatic thriller about a family in Northern California who need to escape when wildfires threaten the region and prompt an evacuation.
The film, inspired by true events, addresses the topical issue of climate change; a title card states that every year, 60,000 wildfires destroy 10 million acres of land in the U.S. alone. The storyline mostly focuses on one family. Dave (Facinelli) picks up his son Clay (Asher Angel) at school just as fires start raging nearby. Returning home to his pregnant wife Sarah (Fiona Dourif) and ailing father George (Lance Henriksen), Dave first tries to fireproof their house, but the wind, heat and dry terrain cause the fires to spread quickly and trap the family. As they try to make their escape, "On Fire" crosscuts this drama with a 911 operator, Kayla (Ashlei Foushee) responding to calls for help from anxious people, including Sarah.
