State and federal firefighting costs soared to record levels this year as wildfires scorched more than 9.5 million acres across the country, continuing a trend that is playing havoc with the U.S. Forest Service budget. The agency spent $2.4 billion battling wildfires in federal fiscal year 2017, which ended Sept. 30. And that doesn’t even include the Forest Service’s share of the $170-million Thomas fire, which is still burning in Los Padres National Forest.