This, now, is what fire is capable of on Earth. The chemistry and physics of fire remain unchanged, the trees themselves are no different than they were fifty years ago, but the air is warmer and the soil is drier—enough to make the latent energy living and dying in these forests that much easier to release. Historians speak of Britain’s Imperial Century, the American Century, and the Chinese Century, but those who study the symbiotic relationship between humans and combustion make a good argument for this one going down as the Century of Fire. Two decades in, the case only strengthens. Across
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