The number of “uncontained large fires” around the United States has now reached 100 (PDF), more evidence that America is in the midst of one of the most devastating wildfire seasons on record. These fires have forced evacuations of tens of thousands and burned more than 3.8 million acres. With months left in the season, wildland firefighters are stretched thin, burned out and faced with difficult decisions on all fronts.

Welcome to a new era of wildfire in the American West—and increasingly, in other parts of the world. The fire seasons that have been scorching huge areas and wiping entire towns from the map are not anomalies—they appear to be the future. To meet that future, a response could be based on an understanding that wildfire is not going away, wildfire will be a part of the ecosystem moving forward, and fire management systems should be modernized to meet the moment.

Fire season devastation is broadly a factor of human activity. Part of this is a changing climate. Drought and heatwaves have been wreaking havoc on the West and contribute to the intensity and duration of fires. According to the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, this is only going to get worse in the coming years and decades.

While the signature of climate change is becoming stronger each year, it is only one driver of this explosive wildfire season. A history of land management has laid the conditions for extreme fire: a lack of investment in thinning and a suppression regime leading to a buildup of fuel for large fires.

Wildland firefighters are seasonal workers, and many are also responsible for other day-to-day tasks in their organizations beyond fire. Additionally, communities in and adjacent to wildland areas live with only voluntary guidelines on home hardening, few resources for preparedness, and no regulations against building in highly-risky areas. Building in the wildland-urban interface with reckless disregard for fire implications continues, creating expanding bullseyes (PDF) of structures and people living in high-risk areas.

Read the full article about land management by Jim Whittington, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Jay Balagna at RAND Corporation.