John Vaillant’s book, Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast (Vintage
Canada, 2024) begins by describing the fire that consumed the Alberta town of Fort McMurray in May, 2016. In a matter of hours, the conflagration that became known as “The Beast”, destroyed more than 2,500 buildings and homes, thousands more were damaged, 6,000 square kilometres were burned, and nearly 100,000 people had to flee for their lives.

“In the spring of 2016,” writes Vaillant, “halfway through the hottest year of the hottest decade in recorded history, a new kind of fire introduced itself to the world.” The year, in northern Alberta, should have been ordinary, but it wasn’t. Snowfall had been well below average for two years, the spring was unseasonably dry, and the unprecedented heat had dried out everything that was combustible. This was becoming the new normal—a new kind of year with a new kind of threat.