They do happen all the time. The thing is, as good stewards of the land is to make them less destructive. That is done by grazing the land (eliminating dry brush) clearing out dead trees so the surrounding trees don’t catch canopies on fire, making sure reservoirs are filled and there are sufficient reservoirs. Establishing breaks where needed.
You will never eliminate wildfires, but they can be less deadly.
I’ve read somewhere that you can’t maintain fire breaks in California because the Greenie extremists have declared they interfere with the migration of some endangered mouse. I have no idea if that is true, but it is certainly on-brand and seems at least likely.