Burning Questions

This summer, there was a fire in the San Juan National Forest near Vallecito, Colo., and the people at the U.S. Forest Service did something novel about it.
Well, not exactly something - more like nothing. For the most part, they stood back, kept an eye on it, and let it do what fires do. After a few weeks and some rain, it went out on its own, at no loss in lives or property.
That may sound about as sensible as an army staying in the barracks while the country is being invaded. But in recent years, the federal government has figured out that trying to snuff out every puff of smoke in the woods is a losing battle. Sometimes, it has concluded, the best policy is to let nature have its way.
This is a big country, and much of it is heavily wooded, prone to drought and therefore susceptible to combustion. Fortunately, an occasional burn can be a good thing. It clears out brush, debris and small trees that serve as kindling for the flames, thus preventing a buildup of fuel that can produce an even bigger conflagration.
But inaction is not the natural tendency of politicians or government agencies...