Maybe. But most fires in the California coast are human caused. Today, lightning is extremely rare.
Furthermore, be careful extending this train of thought to other biomes. My understanding of California chaparral is it's evolved to survive fire, but if it happens too often the biome disappears and turns into grassland. Some of the plants take decades of recovery before they are capable of fruiting.
Just because a species has evolved to survive fire doesn't necessarily mean it needs it.
> But most fires in the California coast are human caused. Today, lightning is extremely rare.
Is it actually any less common than it used to be, or are lightning fires simply a much smaller percentage of burning measured by fire count or acreage?
I can't speak for CA but up in Oregon we regularly have lightning causing fires all summer.
> But most fires in the California coast are human caused.
Worth a note that regular usage of fire to clear underbrush was a very, very long standing practice among the native population - long enough to have affected the landscape and the trees in it.
Furthermore, be careful extending this train of thought to other biomes. My understanding of California chaparral is it's evolved to survive fire, but if it happens too often the biome disappears and turns into grassland. Some of the plants take decades of recovery before they are capable of fruiting.
Just because a species has evolved to survive fire doesn't necessarily mean it needs it.