If you've never had to flee a wildfire, the idea can seem like something out of a disaster film. But as the climate gets warmer, thanks to humans burning fossil fuels, wildfires are becoming larger and more common. Earlier this summer, millions of people in North America awoke to orange skies and blankets of smog from Canadian wildfire smoke that was drifting thousands of miles away. Even if the idea of ever having to deal with wildfire flames seems remote, especially living in a city or suburb, it's clear that few will be able to avoid the fallout, especially as society fails to meaningfully address greenhouse gas emissions.
In his new book "Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World," journalist and author John Vaillant tells the story of the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire. That event may seem like old news, but it burned 1,456,810 acres while forcing almost 90,000 evacuations and indirectly leading to two deaths.
