It's imperative we learn to mitigate massive wildfire dangers

At last count firefighters were battling 82 major wildfires in 10 western states. The fires have already scorched 2,300 square miles of forests and range lands, dislocated thousands of people, and burned hundreds of homes and buildings.

This has been the third worst forest fire season on record prompting western congressional members to add billions to emergency hurricane relief legislation

It isn’t over yet.

The cost of fighting fires already broke this year’s U.S. Forest Service budget. It is part of a disturbing trend where combating these infernos jumped from 16 percent of the agency’s bud...