Fire fear-mongers have lost all reason and reality

Letters about the Rough fire are all over the reality map. There is something about a wildfire that brings out the fear and loathing in some people that completely overwhelms reason and observable reality.

Environmentalists are responsible for the fire for opposing controlled burns. Environmentalists are responsible for the fire for demanding controlled burns. Forest officials are responsible for the fire for not putting it out, an astonishing assertion, given the remoteness and extreme conditions of terrain, dry vegetation, temperature and fuel density.

Truth is fire has been part of the Sierra Nevada landscape for as long as there has been a landscape. A hundred years of experience has unequivocally shown us that wildfire cannot, will not, and probably should not be completely eliminated.

The current drought, higher temperatures, a century of vegetation buildup and a longer fire season have contributed to the intensity of the Rough fire and the inability to control it.

There will certainly be more fires of this kind in the future. When the rains finally come, the flames die out and the smoke clears, our political leaders should begin a responsible public conversation about what, if anything, we are going to do about it.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 8:25 AM with the headline "Fire fear-mongers have lost all reason and reality."