I couldn't disagree more. Prescribed burns are a primitive, obsolete strategy, an archaic dinosaur of the same ilk as bloodletting with leaches, germ theory, and muzzle-loaders. Human interference, WAY more often than not, either makes an already preexisting problem worse, or creates one where one did not exist prior. The creation can take care of itself just fine, has for hundreds of thousands of years. I remember George Carlin had a few choice words to offer back in the early 90s about the arrogance of humans meddling with nature, attempting to control it, and how it backfires on us every time we try. Too true. It's always done wrong and in spirit of destruction. Different topic, yes (he was talking about saving endangered species, I believe), but the principle is the same. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of people taking responsibility for their own land, maintaining it, clearing the flammable vegetation (and ONLY that, not destroying every living thing in sight, like people in my area are wont to do). In fact, it's downright essential to do this. But this kind of individual responsibility seems to be looked upon unfavorably nowadays. When people rely on government entities to do everything, all too many times we end up with what happened in New Mexico last year (largest, most destructive fire in state history). If it turns out that the current ones were started this way too, it wouldn't surprise me in the least.
That said, I pay pretty close attention to these countrywide rain maps (yes
@TN Jed they are available on NOAA's site, although I would take most information of theirs regarding atmospheric "science" with a grain of salt...long story!), and once the monsoon kicks into a higher gear, I don't see much of the country being without rain, thereby moistening otherwise dry fuel. If it can't be lit, it can't burn, hardly a foreign concept to us pipe smokers, right?
I do hope everyone out that way gets through this time. Relief is on the way!
Hopefully some rain to follow. The map looks promising. 
