• Em Adespoton@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    Back in 2016 I was driving along a highway just after a wildfire had swept through the area; was one of the first cars let through.

    We had to slow to a crawl because sections of the highway had melted away. Some closed off sections were still bubbling.

    Some fence posts at the side of the highway were burned away at the bottom but still present at the top, held up by the fence wire.

    Crews were at the side of the road with picks, shovels and rototillers extinguishing the last of the flames, while dark smoke still rose as far as the eye could see before and behind that stretch of highway.

    That fire was caused by a stray cigarette. The result was apocalyptic.