Cut in Firefighting Capabilities in Forests is Unwise...(Daily Bulletin May 25, 2006).

I am happy that the Daily Bulletin has taken itself up on the fight that I have undertaken as well to save the current amount of Firefighters that the San Bernardino Forest Service has. I understand that they are looking at the fact that they have a super great Mutual Aid contract with all the counties and citys in the State of California and well, all Fifty states when you get right down to it. But it is much cheaper to pay your own Man Power to put out a fire then it is to use mutual aid.

Here is why, when you call for mutual aid you get their Fire Fighters and their Equipment. The Forestery is responsable to keep their equipment servicable and putting out fires. They pay the saleries for the Fire Fighters and the Rent/Lease for the use of the Equipment, raising the cost of each fire. Just those Super Scoopers from Canada are about a Million Dollars a Day that they are in use for a Fire, now if they Break down, well the Forest Service is Responsable for the repair and Lord pray it doesn't happen but if they crash, then the San Bernardino Forest Service is responsable for their Life Insurance for on Duty Death, or their Medical Costs if they are injured, that goes for all crews that are working on any peice of equipment...Let me be the first to tell you that Worker's Compensation is a real sad way to go out, I did it sad way to go out.

Well that is another story. But anyway. They should think twice about letting guys go when we havent even figured what kind of fire Season we are having . Once you let them go they are gone and there not coming back. Let them get paid now and be on the clock and they will be cheaper in the long run when and if there is a fire!!

BSRancher

Cut in firefighting capabilities in forests is unwise

As Southern California temperatures rise to somewhere north of unbearable, with the start of the region’s infamous fire season just around the corner, a federal plan to reduce the state’s firefighting attack capabilities by up to 50 percent in some places is dumbfounding. In San Bernardino County, home to one of the most urbanized – and most dangerous – mountain forests in the nation, with approximately 100,000 residents and $7 billion in assessed property values, it means a reduction from 25 staffed engines last year to 15 engines this year. On weekends, there will be 20 engines available, although fires don’t generally work on a schedule. And although the aviation resources and hotshot-crew staffing capabilities for forest areas will remain comparable to last year’s levels, the drastic reduction in manpower, leading to fewer fire engines at the ready, will only aggravate the threats posed in the event of a wildfire. And that threat is expected to be high. ‘‘There are still millions of dead trees in this forest,” said Gene Zimmerman, former supervisor of the San Bernardino National Forest. ‘‘Most of the communities are hilltop, with one way in and one way out. . . . This is not a forest to cut spending on.” We echo Zimmerman’s sentiments. An excessively rainy winter means abundant grasses this spring, which will dry out quickly in the summer months. The disastrous fires of 2003 should act as a pertinent reminder of how dangerous and out of control wildfires can become, as well as a convincing argument on why we cannot afford to cut firefighting resources in the face of danger.