ended up blanketing much of California in smoke from late July until the rain season.

The damage from back to back record breaking in recorded history fire years has damaged California forests in such that the damage cannot be calculated.

I have zero doubt that contemporary fires and weather patterns are the product of global climate change.

Humans are social beings but were unfortunately are also predators and manipulators.

But you are correct in your observations, a major change in acts by human society can have striking results. But even that is not enough, we need to live with zero net carbon and probably more importantly not so literally hell bent on destroying Earth's biota so we can be comfortable. Human footprint and sheer numbers need and will be reduced, our only choice is how to address the reduction.

Not much the optimist at present. See more social strife, wars, disease, and the like in humankinds' immediate future. Too many people and too complex.

Yes we do need to take the pressure off our only home.