The underlying problem is building permanent housing in areas that historically burn perennially. Outside of that, it's management that is needed to ensure fires are manageable enough where property can be protected. A grass and weed fire burns out much faster and is much less intense than one where there are dead trees and logs and a significant amount of larger dead accumulated brush that need much more time to burn to ash, and produce a lot more heat. The grass and native chapparel fires hardly seem to last a few days when they happen in southern california in areas that have recently burned. Whenever you see a long winded fire roasting away, like the one that threatened Mt. Wilson Observatory last year, you will inevitably also read something like "The last time this forest burned was in a fire that was fought 60 years ago."