[freebeard]

Tyler Durden sez:

www.zerohedge.com: Fire Experts Say Western States Need To Clear Out Mismanaged Forests

"Fires have always been part of our ecosystem," said Mike Rogers, a former Angeles National Forest supervisor and board member of the National Association of Forest Service Retirees. "Forest management is a lot like gardening. You have to keep the forest open and thin."

The article is about money for Cal Fire, the controlling authority in the LA basin. They have an uphill battle:

Long before the country’s founding, Spanish explorers documented wildland fires in California. In 1542, conquistador Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed along the coast and noticed smoke billowing up from what is now known as the Los Angeles Basin. He called it “la baya de los fumos,” or “the bay of smoke.” -NBC News

The history of fire suppression vs. forest management dates back to at least 1910, when "The Big Burn" destroyed 3 million acres across Idaho, Washington and Montana - killing 85 people in an event which would reshape fire policy in the United States for decades to come.

Now, the US Forest Service has ordered that all wildland fires are to be extinguished as soon as possible, emphasizing suppressing fires by the morning after they begin in what is known as the '10 a.m. policy.'