Eastern Oregon is ablaze. Eastern Washington is ablaze. The Pacific Northwest is ablaze. The American West is ablaze.

These are serious fires that have destroyed homes, taken human life, wrecked ecosystems and destroyed livelihoods. This brutally hot and dry year will have impacts well into the future, but may not be not as rare as we might first think.

“Megafires” — blazes that destroy 100,000 or more acres — are becoming almost common. This year, there were dozens across the West, including those in John Day, near Twisp, Wash. and a growing inferno in prime northeast Oregon elk country near Troy that has already destroyed multiple homes. Millions of acres have been burning for months in Alaska.

An Aug. 9 National Geographic story reports these megafires are feasting on a warming, changing climate.

The end result of these colossal blazes are permanently transformed ecosystems. One scientist quoted in the story said that if he wants to continue specializing in the same type of forest, he should move hundreds of miles north.

Maybe we should too, if want to continue living, farming, logging and recreating in the same environment.

Still, climate change is not the only huge issue at play when we discuss fires. Weather patterns are having an enormous effect this year, as is the culmination of decades of forest management practices, changes in wildlife and farming, habitat destruction and recreation.

Yes we can all give our two cents on those massive issues, and most certainly should. But we can only be assured a real impact on the decisions that affect our lives, our family and our neighbors.

At the very least, we must look at any property we own in a rural fire district — or in no fire district — and stop thinking what would happen if a wildfire rushes through. We must now act and prepare for the fire that is likely to come. We must heed the warnings we’ve heard for years about creating defensible space, about having materials and water available to defend life and property and about having escape routes ready in case of emergency.

If we can’t take that lesson to heart, as flames lap at our feet of cities across Eastern Oregon, we never will. That the latest Grant County fire is believed to have been human caused is astounding. Who wouldn’t take every precaution as they look off into the fires burning in every direction, infernos that have leveled the homes of their friends and neighbors?

We cannot look to the state for much help. A story in Friday’s East Oregonian noted how few people qualify for the state’s wildfire damage program, and how small the financial benefit is. Without a disaster designation, there is little hope for federal help too. Of course there are firefighters, doing everything possible to limit the destruction and save lives.

But rural residents are reminded again of our isolation and, yes, the dangers of living where we do. We must be prepared to do the work ourselves: both protect our property and rebuild it in the ever-increasing chances that our land is burned.