[pixl97]

I'm on my cell so im not going to be a good help with info on this, but lighting induced fires are actually very common. So you're not talking every 1000 years, but closer to 10 or so. This leads to a much more patchwork design in the forests that leads to natural fire breaks.

[2devnull]

How could that explain places where lightening never or rarely occurs (coastal California)? I can’t think of any lightning sparked fires until a year or two ago. (Inland areas and the sierras obviously do get more lightening.)