It is unfortunate that Adam Burke did not stop in
Kingston, N.M., and talk to any New Mexicans who have looked
critically at the Gila National Forest’s “fire use” policy
(HCN, 11/8/04: Keepers of the Flame). In Kingston he might have
been shown other effective techniques employed by Toby Richards, in
response to community concerns, to create a protective fuel break.
A chipper was brought in and piles of slash were broadcast in areas
of bare, erosive soils. Volunteers helped pile slash for burning.
Due to budgeting and priority, these techniques were only
used on a small portion of the 150-acre fuel break around Kingston,
however. The majority of the thinned trees and branches were burned
in place, often immediately beneath live trees, with the resulting
loss of more than 50 percent of the prescribed “leave trees.”
The key element that makes the “fire use” policy most
applicable in the Gila is the sparse population living in and
around the area. Who will be there to question the burning of
America’s first designated wilderness, the Aldo Leopold
Wilderness immediately west of Kingston, when the choice is being
made?
Paul Boucher’s wish for a reversal of
priorities in regard to fire suppression and fire use to preserve
our forests echoes the role of the firemen in Ray Bradbury’s
futuristic novel Fahrenheit 451, where they no longer put out fires
but are employed to burn books to preserve the culture.
William Lindenau and Veronique De
Jaegher
Kingston, New Mexico
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Who’ll stop the burn?.
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