Fighting Wildfires

* Your Sept. 5 editorial, “Fire Bill--Pay Now or Pay Later,” though on the mark, misses the real reason that something must be done to alleviate the terrible loss of natural resources: timber, grass, soil, watershed, man-made structures and wildlife habitat. The paltry $250,000 that L.A. County has committed to lease one CL-415 “Super Scooper” is but a fraction of the losses that generate from the long-term devastation of wildfires. What is destroyed in a matter of minutes cannot be restored for at least 100 years, and in the case of the 17 firefighters killed this year alone, together with the soil loss, can never be restored.

But for the $250,000, many existing and never-used military aircraft could be modified to do the same thing as the CL-415, and the surplus military pilots are not only available, but are already on the payroll. This country can no longer tolerate the terrible loss as the result of wildfires, and must do everything humanly possible to bomb these destructive fires into submission at the onset.

JAMES R. PRATLEY

U.S. Forest Service (Ret.)

San Diego

* Your editorial incorrectly states that my comments--”the time has come for new tests of the ‘Super Scooper’ “--do not reflect the views of Gov. Pete Wilson.

In fact, I was speaking on behalf of Wilson in making this statement. The state supports the tests planned by Los Angeles County Fire Department; my office is discussing possible federal support to extend the test period.

My comments on the “Super Scooper” also included the caveat that the plane should not be seen as--your editorial seems to suggest--a silver bullet that will definitely reduce losses from future fires. There are a limited number of water sources in the state that can be used by the “Super Scooper,” and cost remains a very real consideration. For the cost of one “Super Scooper,” approximately 10 fixed-wing aircraft could be added to the state’s inventory.

The most dramatic reduction of fire losses will come through intelligent vegetation management, construction of fire-resistant residences and brush clearance around homes. Firefighting efforts--utilizing the “Super Scooper” or other enhancements to training and operations--will be inevitably limited if we fail to manage our fuel loads more effectively.

RICHARD ANDREWS, Director

Governor’s Office of Emergency

Services, Sacramento