I don’t know, I grew up with a forester as my father, uncles as foresters, farmers and fishermen. A huge amount of firefighting work can be and is done behind the lines with a shovel, axe, chainsaw. Some heavy equipment helps a lot. I’d never send untrained folks into the most dangerous areas, but so often you know the fire is going to hit an area in a day or two and you just need more bodies, more men. They aren’t going to be on the front lines.

Adding an experience firefighter, and central direction to large crews of men makes a big difference. How’d you like to have 100 extra men, under central direction, preparing lines a day or two away from the leading edge of the fire? How’d you like to have multiple such crews?

But here’s the bottom line. You’d better figure out how to do it, because California doesn’t have enough money to hire enough professionals. It’s going to have to be done by amateurs, or its not going to be done. Year after year the professionals can’t do the job, becuase there aren’t enough of them. There never will be.

So, instead of saying “no”, figure out what jobs can be done by volunteers (I would never suggest an actual draft in the US); figure out what can be done by people with a little bit of training (and give it to them over the winter, a couple weekends, and enroll them in a “firefighting volunteer corps”) and start using them.

Honestly, this isnt’ a case of what “ought” to be the case in the best of all worlds. This is a matter of what the world is. And if States can’t afford to hire enough people, and they can’t, then they can either write of the forests and houses, or they can figure out some way to get the manpower that costs less.

And just like with military troops, you put the frontline professionals trained under fire, on the front lines, and you put the guys without the training in the back. Yes, I know that sometimes fires break out and there is some risk, but life is risk and the risk is not huge if it’s managed.

Refuse to manage it, but also not have enough resources to save people from losing everyting, and have them know it, and more and more will stay and disobey orders. Because it may just be “stuff” but for a lot of people losing their houses, farms and everything they own is a disaster. It may just be “stuff” but losing it could plunge them into poverty.

A house is full of stuff that can and will be replaced. But if you cause the death of a firefighter who is trying to save your stubborn ass then you have deprived their family of a loved one.

Photos and tvees and not worth a human life.

I moved to Calif. in 78, just after Prop. 13 went into effect and I can say it was a body blow to communities everywhere. Double in San Fran where we’d had an assassination (Moscone & Milk) leading to a de-facto coup d’etat (enter Feinstein). The tone of politics switched noticeably.

I was replying to your comment @ 73.

Just so you know I hold you and what you do in high regard, and would not ever wish untrained neophytes upon anyone in your position.

I would just like more folks to understand what you do, deal with and are responsible for.

Too many assume that a firehose is just a bigger garden hose.

Nothing like wrestling with the laws of physics to enlighten one, and ‘controlling’ the nozzle of a real fire hose is eye-opening and a bit chastening for the ‘unintiated’.

Which you, most definitely, are not

http://findarticles.com/p/arti…..i_n9959287

From the article:

…”Within 60 seconds, a fire that had been of little concern to fire bosses at the Bureau of Land Management raced up steep hillsides of Gambel oak toward 49 firefighters. The fire swept over 14 elite smoke jumpers and “hotshot” firefighters, four of them women, killing them with a blast of superheated wind that literally sucked the air from their lungs.”

Ian, I agree that in the interior of BC and probably Idaho, the Oregon cascades etc there will be capable people using the tools of the firefighter competently. But your scenario indicated..”pull you aside and all men who were young enough and fit enough, were drafted.”

That certainly doesn’t indicate to me the qualifications you now indicate as being in existence. To tell the truth, if it were me with my training, I would dig in my heels and say no to such cavalier recruitment. Then I would look into the matter to see if I could actually be helpful.If so, I would volunteer for that.

When fighting fires in Penns woods, ‘county-folk’ do know which end of the stick to use.

But, some city friends of mine, who once ‘helped’ were all amazed at how HOT it got, whereupon I told them, ‘wait ’til you feel the fire suck the oxygen out of the air, then you know just how tenous this ‘life’ business can become, especially if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time …’

A competent citizenry is not beholden to ‘experts’ or the gummint.