So how would people survive this? If the temperatures were high enough to fuse rock, people would certainly flash-fry, right? One of his linked articles cited examples of vitrified buildings from around the globe, so this was apparently a global event.
Depends on where one is standing at the time.
Vitrification: (Ancient Examples of..)
Excerpt - Vitrified ruins have been found Scotland, England, Ireland, France, Turkey, Iran, Germany and elsewhere, however, out of some 100 forts identified throughout the world, more than half are located in Scotland.
Personally find this stuff to be very interesting. My Scottish Clan is one of the Ancient Scottish Clans so it kinda hits home.
Because people were living in caves and they were on the other side, away from the plasma?