The scourge of wildfires yet again in California has the hallmarks of recurrent disaster nightmare for America’s most populous state. Last year’s fire season — in which the Camp Fire took more than 80 lives in the devastated town of Paradise alone — may have been the first glimpse into a future of almost dystopian threats to communities throughout the state, and the nation. However, from understanding the complexity of the causes of these events, there is an opportunity to re-write the way California approaches wildfires. In doing so, they can also provide a much needed roadmap for resilience for the rest of the nation.