USA TODAY Planned burn by US Forest Service caused largest wildfire in New Mexico history

frontier.yahoo.com...

SANTA FE, N.M. — Two fires that merged to create the largest wildfire in New Mexico history have both been traced to planned burns set by U.S. forest managers as preventative measures, federal investigators announced Friday.

he findings shift responsibility more squarely toward the U.S. Forest Service for initiating a natural disaster that has destroyed at least 330 homes as flames raged through nearly 500 square miles of high-altitude pine forests and meadows. The wildfire also has displaced thousands of residents from rural villages with Spanish-colonial roots and high poverty rates, while unleashing untold environmental damage.

What can I say here but, whaaaa? Two ''planned burns'' at the same time? Getting out of hand and merging? How stupid could these ''planners'' be?

USA TODAY Planned burn by US Forest Service caused largest wildfire in New Mexico history

Do we know if that was the plan ?

Total hubris and stupidity if you ask me. What were they thinking? “Hey, let’s do a couple of controlled burns in this dry and windy weather. What could possibly go wrong?”

I understand the need to do controlled/prescribed burns in some areas to keep them from being a tinder box. But the way the Forest Service went about this was all sorts of wrong. I hope they get someone in there who knows what the hell they’re doing in the future.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

It’s a bit more complicated than that. At least one of the fires was extinguished, and monitored for weeks, survived 2 snowfalls, then reignited and caught the underbrush on fire.

Now, I’m not saying this situation ok, but it’s not like they just lit fires and let them go.

And, unlike pretty much every other government agency, at least they took accountability for the mistake.

"Top men".

Who was the President of the United States when his people did this?

Everything bad that happens under the current President is by design...planned.

a reply to: Gothmog

Well that certainly is the first question to be asked on a conspiracy web site ain't it.

originally posted by: ChiefD
Total hubris and stupidity if you ask me. What were they thinking? “Hey, let’s do a couple of controlled burns in this dry and windy weather. What could possibly go wrong?”

Ask Michigan.
The day it happened was windy, and there hadn't been much rain in that area IIRC.
They got lucky it didn't get much worse.
www.wxyz.com...

Veal said there was no firm explanation yet for why the prescribed burn turned into a wildfire Friday. Planned fires typically are set to improve wildlife habitat and remove vegetation that can become fuel for a wildfire.

“We only ignite them after a thorough analysis, and strict procedures are followed,” Veal said. “It showed we were ready to go. … An unfortunate incident happened and now we’re dealing with what’s left.”

We believe.....

a reply to: NoMoreFools

Thank you for that, it cut's the really dumb in half I guess.

originally posted by: TerryMcGuire
a reply to: NoMoreFools

Thank you for that, it cut's the really dumb in half I guess.

But only in half. Even with the explanation, it’s still TOTALLY unacceptable

The DNR did a controlled burn somewhere in Baraga county a few years back and even though the DNR workers said it was a bad idea because of how dry it was...including their leader on the job...they were told it needed to be done and it got away from them and burned a pretty good section of land. The DNR workers told people in the area because they were from there, but I do not think there was an official release of this from the state and nothing about the cause of the fire was in the news here. It happens once in a while, but those controlled burns should not be done when there is a high risk...that was the case in the fire I talked about here, someone who was not even in the woods ordered it done even though the people who were sent there were concerned about how dry it was there....people in an office should listen to the workers concerns when doing that kind of stuff. They should not give people with little common sense authority to do stupid things, they have some experienced DNR and forestry people out there, but they do not control things, people with a piece of paper from a college make decisions, most times experience and caution is tossed to the wind by someone listening to a weather report, not someone actually in the field seeing things as they really are. The DNR here did seem to get a little more cautious after the event mentioned...it could have been much worse.

This I heard from one of the people I know that worked for the DNR and was there fighting the resulting fire when it went wild. They talk among themselves, and if you know one of them they will usually not lie if they were not responsible for it.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

I've been involved with one controlled burn in my life, an action by a state DNR. It got out of control. All I can say is that it can happen far more easily than one might suspect. Firebreak roads didn't stop it because the wind suddenly picked up and sparks from crown fires jumped the road. Before we knew it, we had fire on both sides of the road. There was no water support; no trucks, no helicopters, nothing like that. Just us in work attire with bandanas around our faces and wooden poles with a rubber flap attached to the end (to slap out fire on the ground).

I'll never forget the sound the fire made when the wind pushed it through the forest towards us. The smoke was choking and the heat blast in front of the flames was incredible. And that demonic hissing as the flames consumed the brush and trees. Ultimately had to abandon our position to avoid becoming casualties.

Cheers

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I'm very concerned about wildfires around here, that one was far enough from me to not be a worry, but it certainly justifies my concerns locally.

Not only do I have old treetops from logging left on the property, but the emerald ash borer killed off all the ash trees that are now toppled over or left dead standing. It's far worse than a clear cut logging operation would do, more work to clean up and dangerous to have to drop them down, plus the ash trees are doomed, extinct locally I'm afraid. I may live in a swamp, but that is no protection from a wildfire, esp with the dead ash trees, not to mention the dead and half dead trees from last years gypsy moth plague (soon to be repeated I'm afraid). ETA: There are jack pine stands nearby as well, they are adapted to wildfires and require fire to reseed, those stands are tinderboxes wet or dry.

There were a few controlled burns on some tall grass prairie remnants within some tens miles of my place. They had firetrucks on the ready and it stayed in control. One area I could see from the road did really well for a few seasons, now it's over grown and ready to burn again, one cigarette flick out the car window could start it. These burns need to happen every three or fours years to be effective, however, they won't even replace the sign, one you can barely read that the forest service put up ages ago.

a reply to: rickymouse

I've head reports of fires in the UP, it seems that occurs more frequently up there. Living under the bridge with the rest of us down state trolls, I don't have too much concern except for any community that might take a hit.

That one north of me mentioned by Don't Tread on Me, that had me worried about folks around here cleaning up their yards or making big bon fires on the weekends. I think that is a far bigger threat than some controlled burn that got out of control some 90 miles or more away. At least with a controlled burn, you'd be aware and perhaps ready for that if things got dicey.

originally posted by: MichiganSwampBuck
a reply to: rickymouse

I've head reports of fires in the UP, it seems that occurs more frequently up there. Living under the bridge with the rest of us down state trolls, I don't have too much concern except for any community that might take a hit.

That one north of me mentioned by Don't Tread on Me, that had me worried about folks around here cleaning up their yards or making big bon fires on the weekends. I think that is a far bigger threat than some controlled burn that got out of control some 90 miles or more away. At least with a controlled burn, you'd be aware and perhaps ready for that if things got dicey.

When Schneider made it so people could use fireworks, it worried me. I live out in the country near town, full of pine trees and other trees, and people were shooting them up when it was real dry out from June through august quite often. Enough people were complaining and most of that has now gone away, but the young still do it. We had quite a few small fires around here for a while about that time, most were put out by the homeowners but the fire department did get called a few times too. If a bottle rocket gets up into a pine tree, it can start a forest fire if everything is dry and homeowners do not have any way of getting water up to the top of a hundred foot tall pine tree to put it out.

It was bad in town too, rockets landed on house roofs that first year and they put in city ordinances the second year to try to control things. There were also some lawsuits filed, but they were for small things, people's deductibles on house insurance are often a thousand dollars.

a reply to: rickymouse

Had to remind me about the 4th of July, didn't you?

Hell, now I'm going to worry about that too.

originally posted by: TerryMcGuire
frontier.yahoo.com...

SANTA FE, N.M. — Two fires that merged to create the largest wildfire in New Mexico history have both been traced to planned burns set by U.S. forest managers as preventative measures, federal investigators announced Friday.

he findings shift responsibility more squarely toward the U.S. Forest Service for initiating a natural disaster that has destroyed at least 330 homes as flames raged through nearly 500 square miles of high-altitude pine forests and meadows. The wildfire also has displaced thousands of residents from rural villages with Spanish-colonial roots and high poverty rates, while unleashing untold environmental damage.

What can I say here but, whaaaa? Two ''planned burns'' at the same time? Getting out of hand and merging? How stupid could these ''planners'' be?

What they don’t tell anyone is that month (April/May) in New Mexico is during the windiest times of the year. Springtime winds.

High Winds were forecasted in that week as well.