--- --- Nov 14, 2023 # Fire Weather by John Vaillant by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff  With _Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World_, journalist [John Vaillant](https://time.com/6285551/wildfire-smoke-climate-change-abnormal-essay/) offers a vivid retelling of the multi-billion-dollar disaster that he calls “the wildfire equivalent of Hurricane Katrina.” In May 2016, [Fort McMurray](https://time.com/4317554/canadian-wildfire-destroys-80-of-homes-in-one-fort-mcmurray-suburb/), a small Canadian city at the center of the country’s oil industry, was destroyed by a colossal wildfire that drove 88,000 people from their homes. To better understand how this apocalyptic natural disaster happened, the award-winning author of _The Golden Spruce_ and _The Tiger_ chronicles the intertwining histories of North America’s oil and gas industries and the study of climate change. Using images from cell phone cameras, security cameras, and a nanny cam placed in a child’s stuffed animal, Vaillant offers a gripping depiction of the blaze’s devastating trajectory. While he offers firsthand accounts from residents affected by the inferno, the book’s true protagonist is fire, which Vaillant treats like a living, breathing creature that is destined to grow even more dangerous as the world becomes even more combustible. At a time when wildfires are dominating news cycles, _Fire Weather_ is not just a timely and stunning [account of recent history](https://time.com/6285655/wildfire-smoke-affects-plants-animals-wildlife/)—it’s also a frightening preview of what could become [our new normal](https://time.com/6306891/new-era-wildfires-homes-better-protection/). —_Shannon Carlin_ **Buy Now:** _Fire Weather_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781524732851) | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3u5kore) Fire Weather: 100 Must-Read Books of 2023 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2023/6332642/fire-weather/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2023/6332642/fire-weather/"},"headline":"Fire Weather","datePublished":"2023-11-14T12:30:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:25:43.817Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2023/6332642/fire-weather/","keywords":["Books","list","best books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf4d9f5f4fe2adb4/698a41fe457a52086ed681e3/FireWeather.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf4d9f5f4fe2adb4/698a41fe457a52086ed681e3/FireWeather.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2023/6332642/fire-weather/","name":"Fire Weather"}}]}] ```