US Forest Service Administrators Step Up Fire, Heat and Pollution Growth

Despite heading into the hot dry late summer months, US Forest Service Administrators continue to step up their purposeful fire, smoke and heat growth practices without any real oversight, carrying out their harmful policies with impunity.

These dangerous pollution practices are not based on true science and harm us all, including our children, the very young, the elderly, those who are pregnant, respiratory patients, ranch animals, pets, our cherished wildlife, local and regional recreation, visitors and commerce. They degrade the water quality and clarity of our streams, rivers and lakes.

Our timber resources are being purposely destroyed under these USFS policies and usually result in massive post fire logging, with much of our timber resources being shipped to China.

Largely unknown to the public and press, the US Forest Service has been quietly "growing" fires, smoke and heat with tactics called "Box and Burn", "Minimal Impact Suppression Tactics", and since 1978, engaging in what is known as "Appropriate Suppression Response" (code for growing fires). (Please see our attached article).

As we speak.....the USFS is purposely growing several lightning caused fires in California even as fire weather is predicted to worsen and winds are picking up. One such fire, the Spring Fire, which started 5 days ago has been purposely grown to over 1,846 acres and only 23% contained. This fire is producing widespread pollution in parts of Mono County and the Owens Valley.

Pollution from the Spring Fire is also beginning to visibly pollute the skies over the South Lake Tahoe Basin. This, as the USFS parades a contingent of 25 international fire and emergency manager visitors inviting them to "shadow" USFS fire growth managers to demonstrate their destructive fire, smoke and heat growth process.

The USFS is fully aware that pollution generated from past purposeful fire growth in the Southern and mid Sierra Range travels north up the Sierra Range chocking our mountain residents, our families, pets, visitors, wildlife and recreation as far north as Lake Tahoe....One of the justifications from a recent past fire is that the smoke will help oak trees and acorns (really??).

Another current and purposely grown USFS fire in Arizona near the Grand Canyon is just 15% contained and has grown to over 19,000 acres which started an astonishing 38 days ago..... The USFS has only assigned 30+ personnel to this fire.

What about the thousands of wildlife who are unable to flee the toxic smoke and flame as they suffocate and suffer needlessly dying slowly or maimed at the hands of this USFS must burn, let burn, just let it burn dogma.......Our organization has access to photos of USFS caused burned and injured wildlife but they are too graphic to display here.

And yet, according to the USFS website, the Chief of the US Forest Service has vowed to continue to grow "unplanned" event fires in 2019.

"Unplanned event fires" used to only include naturally caused fires like lightning strikes (but now shockingly, "unplanned" fires are USFS Code for most any fire, natural or man-made and can even include arson fires).

The USFS have been masterful messengers as they conveniently and successfully hide behind, hijack and blame climate change as an excuse for their failed fire suppression and public safety protection and capability policies. This includes their lack of public safety leadership, failing to embrace technology, failing to plan for adequate suppression resource achievement and causing skyrocketing insurance costs by continually threatening the public and politicians, "that unless the USFS burns more, more will continue to burn".

And, the USFS is actually attempting to change the title of USFS "Firefighters" to Fire "Technicians". That's because fire growth devices like drip torches and sphere igniting devices dropped from helicopters are the preferred fire growth methods as opposed to using, lets say fire retardant aircraft which can easily and efficiently stop the forward movement of most wild land fires.

As we witnessed last summer, this purposeful US Forest Service assault on our clean air systematically clouded major US Western Cities with toxic smoke plumes reaching from the Western US, to as far east as New York. Now, they are doing it again.

Maybe it's time to consider taking fire suppression away from this "must burn", "just burn", "just let it burn" archaic agency. Perhaps we should give the job of wild land fire protection to a variety of agencies who will place public safety at the top of their priority list.

Tell US Forest Service Administrators to STOP GENERATING TOXIC SMOKE....Stop  Growing Fires....PUT THE FIRES OUT!