Ecologists decry efforts to douse recent Calif. wildfire

Two environmentalists who study fire ecology say community leaders shouldn't be applauding U.S. Forest Service firefighters' quick work to contain a recent wildfire, no matter how much smoke was kept out of the air. "Smoke is an unpleasant, but unavoidable, fact of natural life," said Timothy Ingalsbee, the executive director of the Eugene, Ore.-based Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology. "There's no smokeless fire. This is California fire country. There's no way around it." Chad Hanson, director of the Cedar Ridge, Calif.-based John Muir Project, agreed, saying that there's no scientific evidence showing wildfire smoke causes long-term damage to residents' respiratory systems. Such claims run counter to findings of a collaborative investigation by the Record Searchlight and the nonprofit Center for California Health Care Journalism. Reporters this spring found 10 doctor-verified cases in Trinity County where residents -- many of whom had never been seriously ill before -- grew sick during last year's fires and remained chronically ill long after the blazes were extinguished...ScrippsNews