What is a firestorm?
Flames quickly grow as firefighters set a backfire on the eastern front of the Park Fire, which has grown to 360,141 acres and is 12 percent contained, on July 28, 2024 near Chico, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)
Massive wildfires are burning across the western United States and Canada. In Oregon and Idaho, the Durkee Fire is creating a weather phenomenon known as a firestorm, when large plumes of smoke from a wildfire interact with the heat and environment, causing rainfall, lightning strikes and sometimes tornadoes.
Here & Now‘s Anthony Brooks speaks with John Vaillant, author of the book “Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World,” about the conditions that create firestorms and how volatile and destructive they can be.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
