Following an unprecedented period of fire exclusion in many western North American forests, wildfires are not only returning but also increasing in their area burned and severity. These trends are expected to intensify under climate change. However, recent research on reburned landscapes reveals strong negative feedbacks on future fire severity through the process of burning and returning landscapes. In an era of fire exclusion, many of us have perceived burn scars as isolated within previously unburned forested areas. As reburns become more common, future wildfires will increasingly encounter past fires that act as short-term barriers to fire spread followed by longer periods of fuel limitation, particularly following multiple reburn events. In this presentation, we will examine fire-vegetation dynamics in burned and reburning landscapes and implications for climate adaptation strategies for western North American forests. The presentation will detail ongoing research from eastern Washington, interior British Columbia and the western Klamath region of northern California.