That’s the CNN headline this morning. Hot, dry, windy conditions have created a massive firestorm that’s consuming hundreds of square miles in Alberta’s oil sands region. “The fire raging in Fort McMurray, Canada sounds like something from the apocalypse,” CNN says.
“This is an example of what we expect — and consistent with what we expect for climate change,” said Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire at the University of Alberta who’s been studying climate change and wildfire for decades. “This fire is unprecedented,” he said.
So far, the fire has burned over 325 square miles, the city of Fort McMurray has been utterly destroyed, Canadian authorities have evacuated 88,000 people, and over a third of Canada’s oil production is shut down. (Read story here.)