A book about a fire that ravaged a Canadian city and has been called a portent of climate chaos won Britain91裸聊视频檚 leading nonfiction book prize on Thursday.

John Vaillant91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淔ire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World91裸聊视频� was awarded the 50,000 pound ($62,000) Baillie Gifford Prize at a ceremony in London.

The chair of the judging panel, Frederick Studemann, said the book tells 91裸聊视频渁 terrifying story,91裸聊视频� reading 91裸聊视频渁lmost like a thriller91裸聊视频� with a 91裸聊视频渄eep science backdrop.91裸聊视频�

He called 91裸聊视频淔ire Weather,91裸聊视频� which was also a U.S. National Book Award finalist, 91裸聊视频渁n extraordinary and elegantly rendered account of a terrifying climate disaster that engulfed a community and industry, underscoring our toxic relationship with fossil fuels.91裸聊视频�

Vaillant, based in British Columbia, recounts how a engulfed the oil city of Fort McMurray in 2016. The blaze, which burned for months, drove 90,000 people from their homes, destroyed 2,400 buildings and disrupted work at Alberta91裸聊视频檚 lucrative .

Vaillant said the lesson he took from the inferno was that 91裸聊视频渇ire is different now, and we91裸聊视频檝e made it different91裸聊视频� through human-driven climate change.

He said the day the fire broke out in early May, it was 33 Celsius (91.4 Fahrenheit) in Fort McMurray, which is about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) south of the Arctic Circle. Humidity was a bone-dry 11%.

91裸聊视频淵ou have to go to Death Valley in July to get 11% humidity,91裸聊视频� Vaillant told The Associated Press. 91裸聊视频淣ow transpose those conditions to the boreal forest, which is already flammable. To a petroleum town, which is basically built from petroleum products -91裸聊视频� from the vinyl siding to the tar shingles to the rubber tires to the gas grills. 91裸聊视频� So those houses burned like a refinery.91裸聊视频�

Vaillant said the fire produced radiant heat of 500 Celsius 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频渉otter than Venus.91裸聊视频�

Canada has experienced many devastating fires since 2016. The country endured its worst wildfire season on record this year, with blazes destroying huge swaths of northern forest and blanketing much of Canada and the U.S. in haze.

91裸聊视频淭hat has grave implications for our future,91裸聊视频� Vaillant said. 91裸聊视频淐anadians are forest people, and the forest is starting to mean something different now. Summer is starting to mean something different now. That91裸聊视频檚 profound, It91裸聊视频檚 like a sci-fi story -91裸聊视频� when summer became an enemy.91裸聊视频�

Founded in 1999, the prize recognizes English-language books from any country in current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts. It has been credited with bringing an eclectic slate of fact-based books to a wider audience.

Vaillant beat including best-selling American author David Grann91裸聊视频檚 seafaring yarn 91裸聊视频淭he Wager91裸聊视频� and physician-writer Siddhartha Mukherjee91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淭he Song of the Cell.91裸聊视频�

Sponsor Baillie Gifford, an investment firm, has faced protests from environmental groups over its investments in fossil fuel businesses. , Katherine Rundell, gave her prize money for 91裸聊视频淪uper-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne91裸聊视频� to a conservation charity.

The judges said neither the sponsor nor criticism of it influenced their deliberations.

Historian Ruth Scurr, who was on the panel, said she did not feel 91裸聊视频渃ompromised91裸聊视频� as a judge of the prize.

91裸聊视频淚 have no qualms at all about being an independent judge on a book prize, and I am personally thrilled that the winner is going to draw attention to this subject,91裸聊视频� she said.

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