The fire service said the workers tried and failed to extinguish the blaze and it spread behind the external cladding "extremely quickly due to the dry nature of the material".

BBC: The damage to the roof

The air was never quite clear anyway, because of the works, but this year it was thick and dry, like a fine material wrapped around my face and arms.

NEWYORKER: Something Like Happy

This process, in turn, would have heated up the area outside the plug, vaporizing icy material and turning it into dry matter.

MSN: Earth's hot formation may be reason behind water shortage

Somehow, out of the unpromising material of small, disturbed lives, Suleiman has made a bone-dry comedy dedicated to the precarious border between the hapless and the hopeless.

NEWYORKER: Divine Intervention

Taking away the thinned-out material is difficult, and sloppy thinning can increase the risk of fire by leaving dry branches and leaves on the forest floor.

ECONOMIST: The fires return

Material treated with nanotechnology can be engineered to do almost anything repel liquids, resist wrinkles, dry fast and breathe.

NPR: Nanotech in Fashion: The Trend in New Fabrics