[derrida]

Look it up. 85 percent of fires in wilderness areas are suppressed. How much fuel buildup does this result in? Billions of public dollars and far too many lives are spent every year, particularly when it is time to defend the second homes and resorts of the wealthy, who apparently expect the federal government to assume the position of local fire department. Fires are a natural part of a forest ecosystem, as are the pests and pathogens that provide the same "thinning" services you applaud. Does the active management of wilderness strike you as absurd? Would the earth be a charred wasteland if not for the intervention of mankind?