An unusually large and hot fire has struck Alberta, Canada at an unusually early time of year. According to researchers, this is the new normal.
Melody Rowell reports the news that shocks with the scale of its destruction: "An enormous wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, has displaced more than 80,000 people and destroyed an estimated 2,400 buildings, the majority of them homes."
While linking to many other examples of news coverage of the fire, the article for National Geographic is devoted to a series of photographs by Ian C. Bates.
Another recent article from the Associated Press puts the scale of the fire, which began on May 1, in historical context. According to that article, the fire in Alberta is just the latest example of larger and more extreme wildfires burning as a result climate change. The Associated Press also surveys the opinions and findings of researchers working on the subject.
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