Are extreme heat and wildfire smoke major disasters?

The nation’s top emergency response agency has long been a lifeline for cities and states struggling with disaster. When hurricanes strike, earthquakes rattle, and tornadoes carve paths of destruction, the Federal Emergency Management Agency moves in to provide critical resources and aid.Yet for all its assistance, FEMA’s official definition of a “major disaster” does not include two threats that are increasingly posing harm to millions of Americans: extreme heat and wildfire smoke.In a rule-making petition filed Monday, the Center for Biological Diversity and more than 30 other…