Are we the blame for big wildfires?

The answer is complicated, but yes, the human urge to put out any uncontrolled fire is definitely part of the problem, reports Slate. "In certain landscapes, naturally occurring fires may burn grass, trees, and other combustibles in conveniently small sections, creating over time what ecologists call a "mosaic"—alternating patches of recently burned and unburned land. When a fire starts in one patch of the mosaic, it quickly runs out of fuel. But for much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, we tried to suppress even the smallest natural blazes, converting the mosaic into a more homogeneous swath of flammable material. ... Ponderosa Pine forests, which have fueled the Wallow fire, are notoriously prone to the broken-mosaic problem. Historically, these forests experienced frequent, but low-intensity surface fires rather than severe canopy blazes." Swell. Earth 1, Humans 0 -- again.