Our View: Connections lost with Forest Service

Hello, Forest Service, can we talk? Apparently the answer is no if the questions are about last year's Station Fire, the largest forest fire in the history of Southern California. The brass at the Angeles National Forest headquarters in Arcadia refer all calls on that topic to Washington, D.C., from now on. That's as more people ask more questions, such as why weren't there more aircraft sent to douse the small outbreak sooner. And what can the Forest Service do differently to prevent the devastating wildfire and resultant mudslides from happening again? The Forest Service has provided fewer answers. In fact, it's clammed up. What does it have to hide? Plenty, especially after revelations spilled out last week that recordings of dispatch calls during the fire were withheld from federal investigators, who released a report on the Station Fire last November that many roundly criticized as incomplete and short-sighted. No wonder the Forest Service has retreated. But the reason for the PR shutdown is not just the questions regarding the response to the Station Fire. It is part of a disconnect from the land that has permeated the administration of Angeles Forest Supervisor Jody Noiron. Several former Forest Service employees, many who still live in the area and want to see the forest flourish, say that employees are afraid to criticize their boss. Many current employees did not participate with investigators for fear of reprisals, including getting fired. That is not the kind of management that should exist anywhere in the federal government. And it's not what we want to see in our forest...more