Ahead of this year’s typical fire season, Western states braced for the worst. …But much of the West has not burned as expected. …Devastating wildfires tore through Los Angeles to start the year, but since then, despite fast-moving flames in the Plains in the spring, and a handful of notable blazes in the Western states this summer and fall, this year has seen about half the land burned compared with last year, particularly during the typical peak of fire season. …Although in many ways a sigh of relief, the smaller amount of acreage burned tells only part of the story, state officials and experts said. Parts of the West experienced a high number of fires this year, which put a strain on fire resources even if they didn’t burn more land.