Weather, Overgrowth Fuel Western Fires

Re “17 Blazes Charring the West,” June 23: Many thousands of acres of forests and many homes are burned in forest fires almost every year in the U.S., and it is a tragedy to all. But when the Forest Service and firefighters agree that some of these fires can be averted through careful forest thinning, can’t we make a compromise between environmentalists and the lumber industry and have some trees cut away annually?

Barry Sullivan

Culver City

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I don’t want to minimize my extreme sadness for those who have lost so much in these fires, but people are going to have to get used to this sort of thing as the Earth warms up. It’s ironic. The Bush administration doesn’t want to make its business cronies do a little more work to take care of the environment but it will burn out its friends in the Mountain States.

Bill Mosier

Hermosa Beach

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The U.S. is suffering from perhaps its worst fire season in history. And as the Earth becomes warmer and drier, it will get worse. So while the SUV owner holds the hose pumping gasoline into his air-polluting behemoth, he can use the other hand to hold a water hose for fire-extinguishing purposes. Indeed, we are an adaptable people.

Mayer Gerson

Northridge