Burning down the forest to make new growth is something Native Americans did for centuries before Columbus, in both American continents.
They say the pristine landscape the original English settlers found was only that way because European diseases had killed off almost all of the Indians by the early 17th Century...
So much for the peaceful, gentle lovers of Motha Erf!
I’m talking to you, fake Indian Italian guy with the feathers and single tear!
We can do with selective harvesting what the fires have done for centuries and create massive jobs. We could be exporting lumber to China and Asia rather than logs. Imagine that?
Yes, between the natives burning to keep the forest healthy and natural starts without suppression, there were over 4,000,000 acres burned in California each year on average. See https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3798 These firefighting efforts have been highly successful, with the acreage burned by wildfires in California reduced from an estimated annual average of 4.5 million acres in the 1700s to about 1 million acres annually in more recent years.
The report soft-peddles the dangers of fire suppression. All of the recent deadly California fires are essentially the result of fire suppression. The report also points out the meager controlled (natural and prescribed) fire regime is totally inadequate. And it's because of "clean air" laws. The people in Paradise died so that other people could have "clean air" ealier in 2018 when it was safe to burn the overgrown forests nearby.
That said, you don't have to burn forests (or allow natural burns when it is safe). You can responsibly harvest the forests with the same effect. That's what bray pointed out and that's what private owners do.