Reader's View - Firefighters
need support; fatal fire merits investigation
People in the great Pacific Northwest are talking and thinking
about the unthinkable. It is becoming apparent that federal fire
managers failed to support firefighters in harm's way on the
Wenatchee National Forest in Washington state, a fact that may have
contributed to the deaths of four firefighters.
Was air support in the way of water drops withheld from
firefighters in the early-morning hours when fires are easiest to
fight, thereby setting up the disaster in the afternoon?
I watched in shock and anger as a representative of the Forest
Service rationalized that "no amount of water would have done any
good on that fire, it would have taken copious amounts of water to
have done any good." Who the hell cares how much water it would have
taken? The point is that no water was dropped when it was requested.
The whole sickening discussion brought back memories of a time
best forgotten, when my generation built a long wall in Washington,
D.C. The lessons of Vietnam were many. Among them was the clear
understanding that when we send our people in harm's way, whether it
be in combat or against the devil himself in the form of a wildfire,
the last thing they should have to worry about is support of any
kind, including air support.
Federal fire managers sent troops against that fire and then
haggled among themselves about whether they really meant it, for
God's sake, terrified because federal regulatory bureaucrats told
them if they dipped water out of a river they'd be thrown in jail.
When a fire crew calls for a water drop, their only concern
should be that they might drown from the response. Once the decision
is made to fight fire and put lives at risk, not the Endangered
Species Act or the opinion of prominent environmentalists or the
dismay of federal regulatory agencies should matter a tinker's damn.
Fire incident commanders have to have the power to make decisions
on the spot without fear of being second-guessed by political hacks
and environmental spinners thousands of miles from the emergency.
We charge our firefighters with making life-or-death decisions at
a moment's notice, decisions that must change as fast as the wind
changes.
If the Endangered Species Act is the principal concern then the
fire crews have no business being there at all. Federal managers
should just explain to the good people of McCall, Denver and Helena,
Mont., that they're sorry they can't fight the fires threatening
their neighborhoods, but fish take precedence here. Believe it or
not, that really is a legitimate management response. Congress made
the law on our behalf and if that's how the law works, so be it.
All of those issues must be settled before we ever ask anybody to
go to bat for any cause. We have an obligation to support them and
they have the right to expect that we as a nation will do all we can
to protect their welfare.
So, what to do? There must be a full investigation of the
circumstances that led to the decision environment in which federal
fire managers operated that caused the confusion in the first place.
I don't mean find the guilty and shoot them. I mean find out what
happened and fix it.
Policies must be clearly understood and faithfully followed. I
urge everyone to write their congressman and President George W.
Bush to ensure that this never happens again.
Owen
Squires, of Lewiston, is director of Rocky Mountain region for Pulp
and Paperworkers Resource Council.
