Sunday July 1, 2007 

Behind the Scenes

By: Jim Ruffalo

Fire lines: Two stories still needing to be told regarding the nearby Angora Fire concern the safety of those CAL FIRE and local agencies firefighters.

So far under-reported from the lengthy battle of Lake Tahoe is what part is being played by several decades of not taking proper care of those forests.

That leads to the question of why backfires have been so dangerous up there. It appears to these highly untrained eyes that there is an amazing abundance of debris on the forest floor.

Most of that fuel could have - and should have - been eradicated, especially by using the bio-mass program, which has been suggested by 5th District Supervisor Bruce Kranz for several years.

Desperately needed are some investigations, which not only should show us if bio-mass is the correct solution, but also what part is being played by recalcitrant environmentalists.

As for the other still-needed-to-be reported item, is it true that during the winter, CAL FIRE biggies gathered the faithful and instructed them that their lives are much more valuable than are cabins and vacation homes constructed in what's called the forest interface?

If that last item is true, then congratulations to the CAL FIRE hierarchy because that is the correct call.

We can all rebuild a burnt-out home, a task made even more simple should that magic day arise when insurance companies actually honor all of their policies. On the other hand, how do you fill an empty chair at the dinner table in a home of a firefighter?

Don't know about the rest of you, but your humble scribe would - if given the choice - prefer to see the sad sight of nothing standing but a charred chimney as opposed to listening to bagpipes bleating a heart-wrenching version of "Danny Boy" as we lay to rest yet another of our bravest.

Jim Ruffalo appears Wednesdays and Sundays in the Journal. His e-mail address is jmruffalo@yahoo.com.