The U.S. Forest Service's new extinguish policy for fires in wilderness areas ignores a human-created problem ("Feds shelve 'let it burn' forest fire policy," Aug. 5). Fires are as naturally occurring as rain or drought, yet we allow people to build in fire-prone areas. It is akin to building in a flood plain and then yelling for help while drowning. The owners never pay the true cost, now essentially a welfare state for rural landowners called firefighting.
For a century we ignored the reality of fire and forests, creating the matchstick conditions we have now. This policy repeats that mistake, simply to save us from the idiocy of landowners who choose to build in these areas and who then demand we save them and their often-overpriced properties.
Last year, a somewhat unknown but very important Minnesotan died, Roger Kennedy. He wrote many books, but perhaps one of his most important, with multiple lessons, was, "Wildfire and Americans." It examined fire policy and advocated changes in how and where we build. As he and others have stated, until we accept the reality that living in fire-prone areas comes with a cost, these human-caused tragedies will continue.
Paul Ojanen
Virginia
