Yellowstone in 1988 vs the NFs today

Wade, thanks for the most thoughtful posts on the subject to date. I was in Yellowstone in 1988 during the height of the fires. Even with its prescribed burn & limited fire suppression policies in place for some years prior, the extreme conditions made the "500 year" fire inevitable. All the king's horses and men could do nothing except assuage the public watching the nightly news that "something was being done".
Despite a $100 million+ thrown at it, the fires burned 1.1 million acres into September until a mere one inch of snow fell on the Yellowstone plateau, essentially stopping it. Clearly, there were forces at work beyond that of men. The fires started at nature's choosing and ended when finally she snapped her fingers.
The difference between then and now is that Yellowstone was, & still is, largely 2.2 million acres of near-wilderness. The park's structures were clustered into 3 very small areas which made them relatively easy to protect. That's hardly the case with our National Forests which are surrounded by development and penetrated with ski resort leases, and other inholdings.
With the seemingly rapid climate changes we've begun to see, you have wonder whether what we're seeing this year is an anomoly or a taste of things to come.
Brian