Before Spanish missionaries arrived in the 18th century, there were an estimated 300,000 people in California. Violence and disease helped cut that number in half by the mid-1840s, when the United States military invaded. Then, in 1848, a gold nugget was found in a stream near Sacramento, setting off one of the largest mass migrations in American history.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/02/opinion/sunday/goodbye-yosemite-hello-what.html#=

The Empire Fire is an example of a “good fire,” Martin says. Its largely low-intensity flames have cleaned up downed logs from past fires and dense underbrush, improving water storage and helping the roots of larger trees reach water more easily.

http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article174930986.html