The area is not a forest rather it's a chaparral, defined as
In its natural regime, chaparral is characterized by infrequent fires, with intervals ranging between 10–15 years to over a hundred years. Mature chaparral (stands that have been allowed greater intervals between fires) is characterized by nearly impenetrable, dense thickets (except the more open chaparral of the desert). These plants are highly flammable. They grow as woody shrubs with hard and small leaves; are non-leaf dropping (non-deciduous); and are drought tolerant. After the first rains following a fire, the landscape is dominated by soft-leaved non-woody annual plants, known as fire followers, which die back with the summer dry period.
As a result it cannot be effective "thinned out" to prevent fires from spreading. Note also that the fires are a natural occurrence and absent human habitation would not be considered devastating.
But there are people living there and these tragedies will happen.
But the real tragedy, the dead firefighters, is partially the result of the "last resort personal safety tents" that they carry." In a forest fire the "flashover" is higher above the ground and if they have cleared an area around themselves the firefighters stand a better chance of survival.
In this case there is little chance of clearing a large enough area and the fire is racing along at ground level.
Also note that this area hasn't burned out in over 40 years and was probably ripe for a fire.
= new reply since forum marked as read
