Seems to be the way here too.
A lot of our bush fires seem to be deliberately lit.

On very high risk days now, the police and CFS (country fire service - volunteer fire fighters that cover the country/non metro area) patrol the hills and I think I read that that had reduced the number of fires last summer.

Good luck to the folks in BC and I hope you are all OK.

I'd keep away from the fires, things can change pretty fast on the ground and what seems like a safe place can get pretty dangerous, pretty quick. All it takes is for the wind to change. Also the fire generate their own winds which can often jump fire breaks etc when the winds get high enough.

Staying away reduces the risk to you and makes the firefighter's jobs easier, both by giving them less to worry about and by keeping the roads clear.