[Hat-Trick]

I grew up in Boulder County, with my father as county sheriff for 20 years, and was able to see several forest fires and the damage they cause first hand. It seems like the USFS objections to implementing successful technologies like this IL-76 are based in their unfounded fears that it will cause the size of their bureacratic empire to shrink. Our federal government can't effectively distribute free cheese (because of all the attached strings & conditions), let alone understand how to effectively prevent loss of life and property in the mountains from fire. "Were from the Federal Government, and we're here to help".

God speed to the Governor & local officials, and prayers for safety for all those brave men & women who will be on the lines this summer!

[JohnA]

I am reminded that the groundpounders too
feel threatened by the IL-76. When I make an
attempt (of late, totally unacceptable) to
post anything at all at the most frequently
used forum for groundpounders located here:
http://www.wildlandfire.com/theysaid.htm
[e.g. the DenverChannel or the Firehouse.com links]

You may wish to ask what kind of policy the
forum-master, 'abercrombie' is running there
when only Russian aircraft cannot be discussed.

Reminds me of the Stalinist propaganda mentality:

For God's sake don't ever admit that the west
has anything....

...except in the case of the circle-the-wagons
USFS allies.....in reverse. They need not feel
threatened. We've told them as much. The US will
still need the good ones among them. They are
the ones who actually put down the fires for good.