Homes destroyed, and lives upended.

The so-called oak fire is the largest yet this year in California, burning 8,000 hectares in its first week as of Friday.

Fires in Alaska have scorched more than one million hectares during this fire season, according to state officials.

And a fire ecology expert says it's part of a wider trend.

We've seen a doubling of the amount of US forests that have burned since the 1980s and we know that's directly linked to how much warmer it is today than it was in the 1980s.

She says we're also putting more homes in harm's way.

Our work has shown that over a million homes over a two-decade period were within wildfire boundaries and more than 59 million homes were within a kilometer.

We can help by thinning forests by removing the underbrush that can act as kindling for fires to start.

But controlling the greenhouse gases that are warming the planet and creating mega-fires is just as important, scientists say.

People tend to focus on sort of one corner or the other that maybe it's a forest management question; maybe it's a climate change question, but really it has to do with both.

Using controlled burns to clear brush is another tactic, although those that go wrong can make the public unnecessarily skeptical, she says.

It's an extremely extremely extremely small few that make the headlines that escape.

A warming planet produces hotter days and just as important warmer nights which leads to fiercer fires and stretches resources thin.

Fire is a normal part of forest ecology and birds like a black-backed woodpecker have adapted to fire.

They used the the burned trees to create nest cavities so they rely on that resource.

Scientists say both animals and humans need resilient healthy forests.

Something we had in the past but may be losing.

Those who study wildland fires say that managing our forests, controlling carbon emissions, and embracing safer building practices are all part of the solution.