We absolutely need more prescribed burns. This needs to be combined with selective cutting and brush clearance. The selective cutting can pay for itself much of the time with timber sales. On forest service land, timber cruisers select trees to cut based on scientific concerns, and then private companies (often smaller ones) come in to remove the trees.

It's worth noting that whenever you see big clearcuts, its almost always private land (aka, "tree farms"). That is where most of the wood comes from these days. I'm really not sure about the regulations on those lands, considering they can pose a hazard for neighboring areas if improperly managed.

The total amount of burned area in California is very small compared to the area that is susceptible to severe fires, so unfortunately this year didn't move the needle much. Worse, really hot fires kill everything, and actually make it easier for dense brush and stunted trees to pop up again.

What you really want in drier areas is an open forest with few, large trees.