Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World

The boreal (meaning northern) forest, in which Fort McMurray developed around bitumen processing, is a vast, dense biome containing coniferous trees such as spruce, pine, and fir. In Canada, the boreal forest includes aspen, poplar, and birch, creating a mix of perennial and deciduous trees. This forest thrives in cold climates that have long winters and short, cool summers, and they play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. However, the boreal forest is highly susceptible to wildfires due to several factors. The coniferous trees produce flammable resins and needles that accumulate on the forest floor, creating abundant fuel. The typically dry conditions in the summer months, combined with frequent lightning strikes, make wildfires a common occurrence that is a natural and necessary part of forest health. However, climate change exacerbates dry conditions, dramatically heightening the frequency and intensity of boreal forest wildfires.

Vaillant proposes the term Homo flagrans as a progression from Homo sapiens as the human species name, arguing that Homo flagrans (which roughly translates to “burning man”) more accurately describes humanity. Although Homo sapiens (which roughly translates to “wise man”) reflects how humans effectively use fire in beneficial ways, humans’ worldwide dependence on combustion engines and fossil fuels means that fire now controls humans, rather than the other way around. Vaillant further argues that to survive as a species, humans must move beyond dependence on oil-driven combustion and become Homo viriditas, or “growing/greening man,” prioritizing the health of the environment over the effectiveness and utility of oil-based industries.

A pyrocumulonimbus cloud (pyroCb) like the one that developed over the Fort McMurray fire, often referred to as a firestorm cloud, is a type of cumulonimbus cloud that forms over intense heat sources like wildfires or volcanic eruptions. Forming when the heat causes air to rise rapidly, carrying smoke and ash high into the atmosphere, these clouds can produce their own weather, including dry (pyrogenic) lightning, which can ignite new fires. PyroCbs, which were historically far more common over active volcanic eruptions, can create strong, unpredictable winds that spread fire more rapidly. These clouds generally lead to extreme and erratic fire behavior, making firefighting efforts more dangerous and outcomes less predictable, and create severe turbulence and downdrafts that pose extreme risks to firefighting operations.

One of the largest producers of synthetic crude oil from Alberta’s oil sands, the corporation Syncrude had a significant presence in Fort McMurray, where its operations were a major economic driver. The 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, often referred to as “The Beast,” posed a substantial threat to Syncrude’s facilities and the broader oil sands industry. As the wildfire approached, Syncrude had to shut down its operations and evacuate its workforce to ensure safety, resulting in considerable production losses. The fire underscored the vulnerability of industrial operations to natural disasters exacerbated by climate change. Syncrude, along with other oil companies, was part of the community’s concerted efforts to manage the crisis and assist in the recovery and rebuilding processes after the fire. However, this company, along with other oil companies, colluded in the past to ignore and downplay the effects of carbon dioxide on the environment and minimize the oil industry’s role in environmental harm.