"Just put the fires out!" Ever seen a boreal wildfire? I have. I used to fight them. When fire behaviour becomes extreme, you're not getting close to them. The radiant heat from a crown fire is face-melting from hundreds of metres away. All attempts at direct attack will fail, because dropping water on it becomes akin to trying to spit on a campfire...it evaporates before it even hits the flames. Additionally, reduced visibility, high winds, and turbulence makes aerial attack hazardous. As a wildland firefighter, I've been extracted off of wildfires twice as our fires blew up, both times having our gear burned over. We returned to find firehoses and metal melted into the ash. I've seen fireballs launched hundreds of feet high, and fires intense enough to produce lightning, influencing the weather around them. I've seen wildfires grow to the size of a major city in a short period of time. So no, we can't just put the fire out. Not being able to stop such a natural process is a truly humbling feeling.