Fire Weather

John Vaillant – who also wrote The Golden Spruce – describes the disastrous, uncontrollable Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada wildfire as a dire foreshadowing of what the future may hold. The 2016 fire destroyed more than 2,500 homes and released millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The town’s leaders were unprepared for a fire of this magnitude, and their responses may well have increased the fire’s damage.

“Fire Weather”

Fire is made up of oxygen, heat and fuel. It needs a way to start – an ignition spot. Anything hotter than 233C (451F) – a discarded match or a bolt of lightning – can start a fire.Objects – trees or houses, for example – don’t burn; the gasses they emit do. At a sufficiently high temperature, anything can burn.