@marlboromaam Oh, ya, they do that all the time, but we're so tinder dry around here that no amount of prescribed burns can prevent the wildfires from getting out of control. The one that got Fossil Creek ("Backbone Fire") was caused by lightning. It's currently 64% contained and burned 41,000 acres. And that's not even the biggest fire right now. That honor goes to the Telegraph Fire. 181,000 acres so far and 91% contained. Here's the fire map that I look at daily: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/news/7545/
My husband and boys were in NM the summer following the big wildfires there in 2018. Those fires were stopped at Philmont Boy Scout ranch by their demonstration forest (cleared under brush, trees thinned out). That area came right back. The areas not cleared of underbrush had more damage and took longer. They were replanting those areas. It's sad, but natures way of controlling it's forests.
@homeschoolmom So, true, and I want that to be the case here, but climate change has altered the landscape. Many of the forests that are burning here don't come back with the same vegetation. We are losing our pines and getting replaced with scrub.