Yea, it's Federal land. Mostly National Forests and Bureau of Land Management. The money to combat the fires though, comes out of the State's budget.
I also wouldn't, personally, consider the land useless. If you're an outdoorsy person (I am), then you should truly appreciate the gift that is National Forest Land and BLM land. It's yours, as a public land owner, so you should really take some time in your life to enjoy it. I've been on several hunting trips out West on public land and it's simply amazing out there.
One huge criticism I have against the Right, is their general desire to dump these lands back into the States' laps. The States can't afford to fight the fires on them, let alone afford all the rest of the upkeep that they generally require. What generally ends up happening is the States take them back, end up not being able to afford them, and then sell them off to pay for other things. Folks like you and I never get a crack at them because they're sold to billionaires and corporations. And once they're gone, they're gone.
I also agree with you that these morons who move into the middle of the forest really have nobody to blame but themselves. I figure it's on-par with the folks who live along the coast who get railroaded by a Cat 4 hurricane. What did you really expect to happen? Still, I do feel for them.