Forest Service errs in igniting toxins

U.S. Forest Service employees conducting a prescribed fire at the end of February also set an estimated thousands of chemically treated railroad ties ablaze southwest of Tusayan. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is investigating the fire, as the Kaibab National Forest would have needed special permission to dispose of the creosote-treated wood. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers creosote (a coal-tar product used to protect wood from insects and rotting) a possible cancer-causing agent and warns the public not to burn it in fireplaces at home due to risk of releasing "toxic chemicals." Along with items such as batteries and car tires, it's also illegal under state law for residents to burn chemically treated wood as part of trash-disposing fires...more

Will be interesting to see if any fines are levied.

Of more interest is the photo. Look at it. Does that look like a National Forest to you? There are millions of acres in the west that look just like that and have no business being reserved as Forest land.