Mogollon Rim residents riled by fire tactics (FS prevents AZ residents from saving their homes)

SNOWFLAKE - The U.S. Forest Service's strategy to combat the massive "Rodeo-Chediski" wildfire came under intense criticism Tuesday from Mogollon Rim residents who say firefighters abandoned the community of Pinedale and didn't use heavy equipment and other resources offered by private businesses and Apache County to protect the Heber-Overgaard area.

There have been references in a number of posts where the FS has prohibited use of heavy equipment because it wasn't FS certified or operated.

At least in AZ, residents can not be forced from their homes, but instead sign a wavier that acknowledges they will take responsibility for what happens. However, once you leave, you can't come back and only those who remain behind are available to help you.

You would have a tough time creating a situation better designed to create hard feelings than the one these large fires present.

Here you have residents watching their worldly possessions go up in smoke and they, unfortunatley, are not experts in fires or fire fighting.

So they watch resources not being applied and they get upset. And who could fault them.

The fact is, that in fires like this, it is the very unpredictable nature of the fire that must me dealt with first. All attempts to fight or contain the fire must be done with this restraint in mind.

There were some complaints here in Colorado by residents who saw large bulldozers not being used to clear a path around the homes at risk. The view was that the environment came first.

The truth was that this fire was running a quarter to a half mile ahead of the main fire head. The wind would blow hot embers 1000 or 2000 feet ahead and start the fire anew.

So how big of a clearing would have worked? Nothing a cat could do on short order for sure.

Hopefully one of the lessons that comes from this is our need to actually manage the forest better. Dead fallen trees and undergrowth can be managed out without destroying the environment.

Good response. In AZ, some of these towns had enough open space so that fires could have been fought selectively, and there were non-FS firefighters on scene. This is what they have opted to do in Show Low, where they tagged the front doors of houses with white (fight the fire) or red (do not defend) towels/rags. So far, the fire has not gotten into the community and only outlying subdivision homes have burned. In Durango, the rough terrain and steep canyons which funnel wind and flames make such a strategy doubtful at best, and your comments are right on the mark. Monsoonal moisture is what we need and it is still 10-14 days away from arriving.

I can't help but think some serious firebreaks would help though. The "That equipment is not certified" sounds like the red tape we had in the Army. To even run a weed-wacker requires a "license" if you are not signed off on a piece of equipment, forget it. The safety nazis will have your head on a pike.

Due to liability concerns, ESA, and other red-tape, basically nobody is allowed to do anything.

It would be nice to shift some of the liability to the safety nazi; make him liable if he refused to allow something, causing someone to get hurt or property to be damaged. Maybe he would then decide that his job is not safe and de-certify the position!

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.