Re: Make the Forest Service Responsible

The fires of the last few years are, I think a result of over the several decades of fire prevention/surpression mentaility, which has resulted in the build up of fuel ( brush and other materials that lay on the floor of the forest ) There is really no known way of clearing this build up without fire, the way controlled burns are done with out thought of the moisture content ( keeping in mind of the effects of the El Nino/El Nina weather patterns ) will have ( as we all know the effects of there blundered controlled burns " Los Alamos" area, the idea of clearing the area of fuel was good, but the timing was ... well not just right.) The issue of people and matches in a forest are all ways a conflicting issue, and having a policy of not having camp fires for warmth, let alone smoking tobacco products and careless flicking of the spent filter end to the side of trail/road will have a huge impact ( maybe the people who do choose to smoke should have to pull a trailer with water spraying 12' out on either side, this surely reduce the issue of smokers impact ) the thing to keep in mind is that the forests were doing quite well with out man's help ( this was before the Forest Service was formed ) and trying to undo the mess we're in now is what the very long term policy should address. The thing one has to keep in mind is that the forest will recover, and hopefully the Forest Service will learn, this does not address the cost or loss of lives and real estate which is a legal issue in it's self. Where I live the same tinder box is just waiting for a lighting strike to start a Texas size fire that only God could controll !