[ArmstedFragg]

The Forest Service is inherently conflicted. Extinguishing fires can result in additional fuel density, which means that future fires on the site will be more damaging. That additional damage conflicts with its duty to manage the forests. So, depending on the fire, sometimes the goal will be to extinguish, other times the goal will be to let the fire burn in a controlled manner. Which would all be well and good if there weren't about a dozen other factors involved, each of them capable of disturbing their plans.

If you're thinking of building in California's woods, you're better off picking a spot in CalFire’s territory, where they care more about putting out fires and less about environmentalist friendly forestry management.

[MtnClimber]

There is alot of pine beetle killed trees in the forest in the area where I live and 40 miles north where this fire is burning. The envitonmentalists have been blocking proposals for taking out dead trees for lumber or wood pellets that can be used for pellet wood stove heating or to be used in power plants for electrivity production.

[Mom MD]

The big problem in Colorado is beetlle kill. We have whole mountain sides of dead trees that the envirowhackos won’t allow to be logged out. The entire front range of the Rockies is just waiting to burn the forest service has said if the fire enters those areas it will be too dangerous to fight -dead trees falling on firefighters etc.... And gov Chickenlooper is another left wing whacko so no help there. His response to this? A statewide fireworks ban......