I listened with disgust to President Bush’s speech about thinning the forest to eliminate fires. He doesn’t seem to realize when the forests are thinned the most fire resistant trees are removed and the kindling is left behind on the forest floor. I’d be willing to bet a large percentage of the acreage that has burned this year and in years past has been thinned at least once. The only way to eliminate forest fires is to eliminate the forests. The fires won’t be eliminated, they will become known as range fires.
The left points its finger at the right, and the right thumbs its nose at the left while both ignore the obvious. The blame for the fires lies at the feet of the one who created the forest in the first place (insert the God of your choice here). The ecosystem of the American West was created with fire being an intricate part of the environment. Try as we might, we will never eliminate the fires.
We rarely best Mother Nature when we try to change the environment to suit our desires. What we need to do is learn to live within our environment. I’m not an advocate of living in caves, but if you will take notice, one of the few things to survive all forest fires are caves. Common sense (which is as rare as a blue diamond, and just as valuable) tells me that building fire resistant homes with a defensible space around them is the best and least expensive option in a wildland/urban interface area. The same lack of common sense keeps building mobile home parks in Tornado Alley in the Midwest.
My momma told me, when I was a little boy many years ago, “Son, ya don’t poop in the bath water.” My wish is that others would understand this concept.
Marysville
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