"HOPE" IS NOT A METHOD FOR FIGHTING WILD FIRES!
Let's tell our federal land managers and politicians to stop "letting it burn!"By Del Albright
I published this blog last year during a terrible fire season, and I am going to republish it again this year, right now, as 2018 appears to be another raging fire season year.
Wildfires continue to destroy our heritage and natural resources in the West, while in many cases aggressive fire suppression has been lacking on federal lands. We recently heard the term "minimal impact fire suppression" -- meaning really that they intend to stand back mostly and watch it burn.
They "hope" the fire goes out and doesn't do much damage.
Federal land managers have been plagued for years with "tactics" forced on them like "let it burn" or "prescribed fire, unplanned ignition" or "let Nature take its course."
Baloney!
I'm tempted to write this letter to the federal land managing agencies. What do you think?
To whom in the federal government it may concern: "Hope" is not a method of fighting fires. Let's quit hoping the fire goes out; and quit hoping the bugs don't kill more trees that will eventually burn up; and quit hoping Nature takes its course or that Nature puts out the fire; and let's start aggressively and actively fighting fires on federal lands with every "impact" you can dream up, from ground and air, to stop fires from destroying our heritage and resources!
This does not apply to every federal agency or every federal firefighter. And now I even worry about state fire fighters in some cases. But if the shoe fits....
To stand around and talk about it, and hope it doesn't burn structures or get totally out of control is unacceptable, unprofessional and obviously a ploy to satisfy some political agenda. Stop it. Fight the fires. Put out the fires. Save America's treasures and resources with everything you have.
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