My prayers are with you and your's Kat. Please let these fires be extinguished without loss of life.
One thing to remember, though the loss of old and much cherished artifacts is a tragedy for those concerned, the land will, in it's own time, recover. Something we have come to realise, especially after the storm of October '87, is that it will often recover quicker andbetter if we don't try to "assist!"
Fires are a feature of any forested area, (is it the Californian Redwood that needs fire to trigger the release of it's seeds?)
By preventing smaller fires we have probably made those that do occur more severe and dangerous not only by allowing a build up of dead scrub and brushwood, but by allowing a tree density much higher than occurs in unmanaged woodland.