Use Controlled Burns

It is always easy to blame an arsonist or the east wind on the disastrous brush fires that periodically ravage the hills of Southern California and the homes that stand amid them.

I have spent the last 40 years living in these same hills among the chaparral brush, with the 1985 Ojai fire sweeping to my back door stoop. I have acquainted myself thoroughly with how this brush grows and how its history is intrinsically interwoven with periodic fires. Fire actually is good medicine for brush, rejuvenating it and the other life that intermingles with it.

If we are to end these periodic holocausts, we are going to have to demand that the U. S. Forest Service and other government agencies begin an extensive program of brush management. It is the height of stupidity to wait, sometimes 50 years, until the chaparral has grown into gigantic tangled masses, where the slightest spark will leap into a ferocious, untamable monster.

We have months on end when moist fogs shroud the hills, and the plants, instead of dry and brittle, still retain much moisture. Sensible controlled burns at these times are almost always manageable; they move slowly and gently, giving wildlife time to move away.

In the past I have done this many times; but now the bureaucrats forbid it, stating that is causes air pollution. They shy away from this on the public lands, stating there are no funds or manpower. Actually, it is probably fear that keeps controlled burns from occurring. The official who would authorize this would be severely chastised or demoted if the flames would accidentally get out of control, as sometimes happens.

The managers of these lands have an absolute responsibility to prevent the brush from growing into enormous tangles. The public and the insurance companies must see that controlled burning becomes standard practice.

JOHN E. TAFT

Ojai