…As the year progresses to shoulder seasons, researchers and advocates look to what made this past summer so intense, and what can be done in the next months to help resilience and rehabilitation. “A little of how we define fire seasons is based on resource availability, people and equipment,” said John Bailey, a silviculture and fire management professor in the department of forestry. “But most of the way we define is the condition of the fuel and the weather that we have—temperature, relative humidity, all that stuff.” According to Bailey, a wildfire cycle is a natural occurrence in some areas. “This is one important message, is that here in this part of the world we have a fairly predictable fire season. Good fire season essentially every year, even if we have a wet winter or spring,” Bailey said.