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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Forest Service Did What It Could

By

    The Ojo Peak fire, which started during Thanksgiving week in the Manzano Mountains and eventually charred almost 7,000 acres and destroyed several homes, is finally fully contained.
    The same cannot be said, apparently, about public sentiment that the U.S. Forest Service didn't respond quickly enough or forcefully enough to the fire.
    The Mountainair Ranger District held a public meeting last week in Torreon— in the heart of the area most affected by the fire— to brief area residents on events that followed the first report of the flare-up in the early-morning hours of Nov. 19.
    The meeting showed the Forest Service was taken somewhat by surprise to see a fire at this time of year, but responded as best it could given the remoteness, elevation and terrain at the fire site— not to mention the strong winds that fanned the blaze.
    The meeting also showed that some believe the Forest Service— or somebody— should have done more. But it's difficult to determine just what the "more" should have been.
    The Forest Service ramps up for fire season in the spring, with fire crews, helicopters and air tankers at the ready. But even at the peak of fire season, those resources are finite and are allocated on an as-needed basis.
    If there's a bigger fire elsewhere, the air tankers may not be there for yours.
    Mid-November, of course, is not fire season— in New Mexico, at least.
    Regardless of the time of year, if the need for firefighting crews and equipment is greater than the resources, as it sometimes is when multiple wildfires are burning across the West, fires can get out of control and cause widespread damage to structures and property.
    And when the wind is blowing at 40 mph or more, as it was when the Ojo Peak fire exploded from several hundred acres to nearly 7,000, there is not much anyone or any equipment can do to stop it.
    What did we learn from the Ojo Peak fire? Let us count the ways:
    The East Mountains area is ripe for major fires, which can strike at any time.
    Building or living in the mountains and forests carries both rich rewards and dire risks.
    The government, whether it be the Forest Service, FEMA or any other public agency, will respond and do its best to contain wildfires that threaten property. Whether that response rises to the level of competence is often open to debate. And in any case, there are times the efforts simply won't stop the fire.
    It's easy to point fingers and say the response to the Ojo Peak fire should have been faster, stronger and more effective.
    In fact, the government should have implemented wiser forest management practices decades ago, before the policy of fighting nearly all fires led to an overload of fuels in America's forests.
    But that's spilled milk, and it will probably take decades longer to clean it up.