“didn’t used to be like this.”
Hell yeah it did, for a while we took care of our forests. Where we could. Protect the good timber. Fire brakes. Etc.
But before that it was whatever happened happened. A lightning strike or a cow tipping over a lantern. Or a metor landing.
Man gets tired of cleaning up after nature and then blames man.
Yes, there were huge conflagrations (Wisconsin Peshtigo fire, 1871; Idaho & Montana Great Fire of 1910) before. But not endless smoke-filled summers year after year after year. It all started when the enviro-kooks took power.