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Summary: Wildfires are increasing in size and severity in many regions of the United States, as well as in other important regions of the planet. Climate change and increased fuels from fire suppression are contributing factors. These modern “megafires” threaten life, health, and property and are causing dramatic ecosystem changes. While these fires are unprecedented in our lifetimes, tree ring fire scars tell us about fires that happened in past centuries. Were fires always this big or severe, and how did past societies live with fire? This talk will address these important topics and new fire research using the newly compiled North American tree-ring fire-scar network.