In May 2016, Fort McMurray, the hub of Canada’s oil industry and America’s biggest foreign supplier, was overrun by wildfire. The multi-billion-dollar disaster melted vehicles, turned entire neighborhoods into firebombs, and drove 88,000 people from their homes in a single afternoon. In his latest book, Fire Weather, bestselling author John Vaillant warns that this inferno – the wildfire equivalent of Hurricane Katrina – was not a unique event, but a shocking preview of what we must prepare for in a hotter, more flammable world.
John Vaillant is the author of the bestselling books, The Golden Spruce and The Tiger. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and elsewhere. His debut novel, The Jaguar’s Children, was a finalist for the prestigious International Dublin Literary Award.
