U.S. Wildfire Causes 1980-2016

This. There are studies supporting this conclusion [0]: "Without adequate prevention measures, forest debris can build up, fueling a bigger, more devastating fire the next time around."

And this [1]: "This leaves authorities with a difficult problem. After decades of successful wildfire suppression, we can now expect fires to be far worse when they finally happen."

[0] http://news.mit.edu/2013/forest-fire-management-1120

[1] http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160722-why-we-should-let-ra...

Where I live (Southern Idaho) it isn't just forest burning, but also the desert wild lands. The burning is now worse because of invasive species of grass (cheat grass). So now the cheat grass is pushing out the native grasses and sage brush because the seeds tolerate burning better, and the grass grows quickly....much faster than the native plants. To make it worse again, the cheat grass dies out in summer faster creating a greater burn hazard.

I jokingly say my area has 5 seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Smoke, and Fall.

You are correct, they are essential to the health of forests. The massive 1988 fire in Yellowstone, was a direct result of humans intervening.

https://blog.suny.edu/2013/08/ask-an-expert-why-are-wildfire...

Before humans, lightning was THE primary way to start fire on Earth.

I would say I don't know why you are downvoted but I do know why. Environmentalists overwhelm the Forest Service to the point where they don't even salvage log mega fires anymore due to a guarantee of being sued (and if they do it's safety salvage along roads). They also prevent timber sales of trees over a certain diameter, etc, etc. There is no balance anymore to timber sales or industry use, or they have become non existant on the west coast. Environmentalists & government have largely created unintended consequences in the last 50 years leading to mega fires that scorch the ground underneath the forest. What good is protecting an endangered owl if they eventually get scorched to death? (See Canyon Creek complex in Malhuer, King Fire in El Dorado, etc, etc the list never ends). The national forest is called "Land of Many Uses" for a reason. Despite what you hear, we can successfully log, cattle graze, hike, jeep, hunt and camp in our forests with balance.

Where I live in Colorado, we see active preventive measures on pubic, government owned lands as opposed to very little mitigation on large swaths of private lands.