Wildfires in the West are producing a parade of chilling statistics. More than 4 million acres have burned in California, the most in recorded history. … Still, some fire scientists warn that focusing on these record-breaking numbers could do more harm than good. Extreme fires this year have taken a massive human toll, both on those evacuated from their homes and on millions of others breathing unhealthy air. Some experts say the focus on acres burned obscures those human costs. The emphasis on acreage also does little to reframe our relationship with fire, since it implies bigger fires are always “bad.” Fire scientists say returning some fire to the landscape is key to reducing the destructiveness of future fires, either by purposely setting low-grade, controlled burns or allowing wildfires to burn as long as they don’t threaten human development. Those fires remove dense and dead vegetation, which has fueled some of the explosive fires this year.