Each summer, wildfires burn thousands of acres of forests to the ground. For centuries, fires were suppressed, leading to thick, dense forests that ultimately burn with such intensity that their smoke clouds are sometimes visible for hundreds of miles. Wildfires destroy homes, property and burn so much landscape that the scars are visible from space. Each year, we lose as much forested land to fires as we do to logging and conversion to farmland combined. Yet, far from being restricted to forests alone, wildfires are a global problem, affecting areas as diverse as the American West, the far northern tundra and temperate grasslands.