Is the state to blame for the wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes in north-central Washington last summer?
Did the bureaucrats who run the Department of Natural Resources purposely let fires burn until they were beyond control, destroying homes and communities, in the hopes of bolstering their budgets? Were the ruinous effects of these fires – characterized as the worst in the state’s history – actually foreseeable, preventable consequences of a decision to keep state firefighters on the sidelines, literally watching as flames spread?
The state says no, and it sounds, on its face, too conspiratorial for prime time. But those questions – which form the backbone of a lawsuit that is headed for court – are harder to dismiss than they should be.
In mid-July, four lightning strikes started four fires in the Methow Valley. Within three days, the fires merged and turned into the largest wildfire in state history, burning more than 256,000 acres and costing the state $60 million to fight. Around 300 homes were destroyed, including the town of Pateros. Damage to livestock and agricultural land was devastating.
From the moment the fires started burning, people in the area began complaining about unresponsive DNR crews. Crews sat and watched as community volunteers fought home fires in vain, homeowners claimed. Volunteers said they were sent away by DNR personnel, who then let the fires burn. According to the attorney preparing the case, Alex Thomason, one homeowner asked a card-playing DNR crew for help, without success.
...Thomason said he has interviewed Forest Service smokejumpers who were turned away from the fire. He said he has interviewed former DNR firefighters who have told him it was “absolutely inexcusable” that the fire was allowed to grow so big, and who told him that the state’s policy on lightning strikes is to let them burn until they burn out or get big enough to draw more resources.
“The only ones saying it was an act of God are the bureaucrats,” Thomason told the Capitol Press last month. “Everyone else believes it was a disaster that didn’t have to happen, that it was caused by DNR not letting people fight the fire.
“We think there is evidence that will show DNR stood to benefit financially (in government resources) from letting these fires grow. They just got bigger than they wanted them to.”
No comments:
Post a Comment