ABSTRACT Wildland fires occur all over the nation, yet focused mainly on the west, predominately in California.   In the wildfire world, most people use California as the barometer for land management, urban planning, forest health, building codes, response, and recovery efforts.   If it happens in California, it may soon happen elsewhere, so let’s use California as a learning lab.   Our speaker has 45 years in the fire service and will briefly review how the wildfire problem has escalated over the years, the conundrums currently facing us and ideas on where we go from here.