Folks such as myself took a bunch of heat in the media for not blaming Bush or Schwartzeneggar or Iraq or “Global Warming” for the latest round of California wildfires.
Audio & visual rightwing blowhard, Glenn Beck, was vilified in the LAT for yakking about BlameAmericaFirsters getting their houses burned down, while multiple leftist talking heads got away with accusing Blackwater of arson.
However, when it comes to wildfires, you have to listen to those who know wildfires and they said, well what do you know, exactly what I said
Earlier this year, the National Association of State Foresters – representing the 50 lead state fire agencies – declared there was an “urgent and dire need†to reform federal wildfire policy. The association notes that “only 1 percent of the wildfires burn 95 percent of all burned acres, consuming 85 percent of total suppression costs.†But since wildfire costs vary from year to year, one particularly bad blaze can wipe out funding for the other key functions of the U.S. Forest Service besides nuts-and-bolts firefighting. Those functions: managing forests to reduce fuel and mounting awareness efforts to show property owners how to limit fire risks.
The state foresters say U.S. Forest Service funding should be partitioned, with a big chunk diverted into an account that is tapped only when a highly destructive wildfire occurs. The twist: Fire agencies could not access this special fund unless they had undertaken vigorous, cost-effective measures to reduce the wildfire threat.
Most folks know not to put a gas can in front of a fireplace. Why is this situation so hard for people to figure out?
A: They’re stupid.
B: They want people burned out.
C: A combination of the above.
Take your pick.