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Thursday, May 15, 2008

Don't Put Blame on Firefighters



      The lessons of the Trigo Fire are still being determined.
       Questions will naturally arise about this fire that seemingly had run its course, and then flared up to cut a swath of destruction through the Manzano Mountains. Were fire crews pulled away too early? Was there anything that could have been done to keep the flare-up from happening?
       These are valid questions, and perhaps the answers aren't satisfying if you lost a home. Any firefighter will tell you fires can act in odd ways. Fire officials say the Trigo Fire flared up after wind lifted a burning ember and set it down outside of containment lines, where it literally exploded a forest filled with fuel. In times like those, the safety of firefighters and those in the path of the fire are the most important thing.
       Many unfortunate things occurred during the Trigo Fire, but blaming those who fought it is misplaced. The true culprit is most likely a person who was hiking in the area where it started on the west slope of the Manzano Mountains. That person's decision to either start a fire on purpose or throw a match or cigarette to the ground cost more than $10 million to fight and 59 people their homes.
       That is the true crime, and one that is unlikely to be solved without someone stepping forward with information. If the person is discovered, he or she should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
       If there are lessons learned from the Trigo Fire, it's that firefighters do one hell of a job and that neighbors will band together to take care of their own.
   

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