Posted on 07/06/2008 11:13:18 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
In Congress, a week before the rash of freak lightning strikes that ignited more than 1,000 fires across California, a Senate committee was warned that shorthanded U.S. Forest Service crews could be overwhelmed by needs across the country.
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This is also about the time or thereabouts that Gay Marriages were blessed by the Ca Supreme Court.
Coincidence?
At least private fireworks use was down this year. Many obviuosly figured out that we have a big problem.
Once again, the obvious is missed. Tax revenues in California would easily allow this state to purchase 20 water dropping aircraft for the exclusive use of the state. And any time a threatening fire breaks out, those aircraft could be scrambled, and the fire would be out before it even became a problem. But the construction industry, the fire department unions, and the insurance industry, among others, make sure California never makes this no-brainer purchase.
Why do people build their homes in canyons filled with tinder that are guaranteed to be threatened by fire most summers? Those who do should not expect others to risk their lives to protect their property.
It is not just in California although it does get all the media attention.
Here in New Mexico there have been four category 1 major fires within 10 miles of our house since December. One got within 1/2 mile and we had to evacuate twice. About 45-50 square miles burned, over 100 houses and buildings lost. The last one is still not totally out. And we still have three more months to go.
And we are just a small part of the state, other parts are still burning.
Want rain but no lightning.
Incidentally if you want to look at the location of fires around the country (and the sizes if the people have had time to post the images) go to
http://geomac.usgs.gov/viewer/viewer.htm
It is a bit slow to load and not the best in user friendly but still has a lot of information.
Same reason people build beach houses in hurricane-prone areas or by rivers that flood or where there are earthquakes or tornadoes.
I totally understand what you mean, but there is another piece of the puzzle that you are not addressing. That is the fact that the Greenies in CA have effectively halted any form of timber removal, even the dead stuff.
A lot of us started removing old dead oaks last winter/spring and then suddenly our County saw what was happening and decided to make some money off of it. Now they require environmental evaluation and permits, even if the trees are dead. Several homes were lost here recently because a homeowner was not allowed to remove some dead eucalyptus, the most flammable tree in the forest.
It’s all about politics and money. I’m glad I did my oak clearing before the dummies at the County figured out how to cash in.
You see, my point is, we wouldn’t BE living in “canyons filled with tinder that are guaranteed to be threatened by fire...” if they would just leave us alone and let us protect our properties.
Hey Norm!!
Happy Fourth of July! We survived here without any more fires!
But you get to decide what risk you want to take. (at least for now anyway)
Amen
That is what happens when the forest is not managed, thank the environmentalists for their destruction of the forest.
LOL!
IMO...These fires happen when Libs/Environazis get hold of a Bic lighter...take trip in their VW van to a forest....come back and scream...”Look what global warming has done!!!”....
In the good old days (before protecting union thugs) citizens were recruited to fight fires in the timber region. Loggers showed up with dozers, water tenders and job site firefighting equip within a few hours. Now all they can do is signup with CDF and wait for a EIR to be filed and to make sure it pays union scale...
I have two fires in my district - Ukonom complex at at 9,031 acres. There are 379 firefighters on it. (Merrill Fire at 4,825 acres is 18% contained; Jake Fire at 3,241 acres is 2% contained and Blue Fire at 965 acres is 8% contained.) Then there is the Siskiyou Complex at 11,100, 29% contained and 614 firefighters.
Because these are away from most populated areas, they have minimum staffing and will likely continue to grow for some time. They are burning down the Klamath River in old growth timber and prime salmon habitat. Both were caused by lightning. This is east of where the huge Biscuit fire burned.
The Ukonom fires are in some of the area burned in 1973 in the Off fire, 1977, and 1987 Yellow Fire,(during the Fire Siege), the 2005 Geary Fire and 2006 Hancock and Woolley fires. These areas were not salvaged after prior fires and dead trees remained as fuel for current fires.
Dillon Creek is the area of current the Siskiyou Complex burn. It is a Late Successional Reserve for northern spotted owl. It burned in the 1987 Fire Seige, the 1994 Dillon Creek Fire and was heavily hit during the storms of 1997.
In the summer of 1997, Earth First and the Dillon Creek Forest Defenders defended the “ancient forest” in Dillon Creek from management for forest health. The Forest Service planned the Dillon timber sale under the Congressional salvage rider as an emergency measure to avert a forest health crisis and catastrophic fire. The environmentalists pushed to have the salvage sale blocked based on claims it was in a roadless area. The local USFS analyzed the boundaries and determined the sale not to be in a roadless area but outside the boundaries and a sale proceeded. The protestors monkeywrenched and tried to interfer with the salvage operation.
It will be interesting to see how the Dillon Creek watershed fares in the fire.
responsible.
a very slippery word when it comes to environmentalists.
they can do no wrong in the eyes of the media and their supporters.
yet somehow, they still can not see the forest for the trees.
a few more lightning strikes and maybe finally the responsible thing can be done. or the forests will all be burnt down.
then , who will be responsible?
Thanks for the comments. eco-nuts are ironically more likely to be destroyers of nature , who in their zeal to save the environment, only mess it up more.
What’s the old saying, ‘Ya don’t mess with Mother Nature’.
I doubt environuts have the mental capacity to fathom the concept... or the news reporters.
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