Throughout the world, wildfires are becoming more destructive. You have fires throughout Canada, fires in Africa and Europe, and the countless fires here in the States, all of which burn through hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of acres each and every year. That's thanks to a number of variables, including climate change (yes, it's real), population increases, forestry management, and even urban sprawl entering what are normally wildland areas.
Who could've guessed that human encroachment into forests and fragile ecosystems at a time when years are getting hotter and drier would've been such a bad idea?
But while we absolutely need to address the above contributors to the larger and larger wildfires, i.e. maybe explore better prescribed burn activities, as well as increase the gap between human habitation and woodland areas instead of just building on the edges, we also need better practices in fighting said fires. We already have the hot-shot wildland firefighters who either drive into these infernos or parachute in, as well as the fleet of airplanes and helicopters designed to drop water and fire retardant onto said fires. Yet, all those involve risking the lives of those brave individuals.
