. >> pelley: now, steve inskeep of npr, on assignment for "60 minutes." >> inskeep: fighting wildfiresst federal agencies almost $2 billion last year, including more than half the budget of the u.s. forest service. wildland fires are growing worse, in a time of drought and climate change, and the biggest and most destructive fires can't be stopped. they are a force of nature: imagine trying to stop a hurricane. yet the government has to try, because more than 100 million americans now live in, or near, forests and grasslands that can erupt in flames. this is what's left of a neighborhood in the kern river valley. it's outside bakersfield, california. much of the valley burned in a wildfire that swept across 75 square miles. it killed two people and destroyed 285 homes. the wildlands that fed this fire are the same wildlands that attracted residents like fred roach. is this the view that brings people to live in this spot? >> fred roach: it's the view that brought us here. yes, sir. >> inskeep: roach lives amid mountains covered with grass, so dry that lightning strikes or human activit