Dear Editor,

In the ensuing investigations of the firefighter fatalities on the 30 Mile Fire, there will be temptations to explain the disaster in terms of the firefighters’ youth and lack of experience. This "blame the victims" explanation was precisely the approach used by the initial Forest Service investigation of the tragic 1994 South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain in Colorado. In that case, the 14 people who died were some of the nation's most elite experienced firefighters, but they were still blamed for their "can do" attitude.

Their tragedy on Storm King Mountain resulted in the creation of the 1995 Federal Wildland Fire Policy which mandated firefighter safety as the highest priority, and required fire management plans for every acre of federal land containing burnable vegetation. With these fire plans in place, federal officials have the option to simply monitor wildfires if they are burning in dangerous terrain or severe weather conditions--and/or are burning in fire-adapted ecosystems where fire performs beneficial ecological functions. However, without these fire management plans in place, the Forest Service is compelled to aggressively suppress all fire in all places under all circumstances--sometimes with tragic consequences.

The firefighters killed and injured on the 30 Mile Fire were victims of the Forest Service's willful inaction, refusing to do necessary fire planning. This lack of intelligent pre-planning results in a system of blindly fighting all fires regardless of the risks imposed on firefighters, the costs imposed on taxpayers, and the damages imposed on the environment. The public and elected officials must demand that the Forest Service fully comply with and implement the Federal Fire Policy, beginning with the development of rational fire management plans.

Sadly, this incident was a preventable tragedy. It is time for the Forest Service to get out of the business of reactive, unplanned emergency fire suppression, and get on with the work of proactive fire planning, hazardous fuels reduction, and ecosystem restoration.