A lot of the fire danger today is a consequence of a century of zero-tolerance wildfire policy leading to overgrown forests full of fuel and unhealthy trees. Then we get infernos that consume everything in their path. We had a presenter at the library discussing the differences between our forests now and what were likely the natural forests of the 1700s, and advised forest management toward that end for property owners.
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True dat. Forests are supposed to burn to some extent. Some plants even need fire as part of their reproductive cycle. And charcoal changes soil acidity, I think.
The Wild Podcast has a recent episode about how selective logging is done in the redwood forest to improve the ecology of the forest floor. As it turns out, forests need pruning, and western "preservation" methods that excluded native cultures from cutting down trees were more damaging long term.