Retired Los Alamos scientist says he has a better way to fight forest fires: Get the Air Force involved
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Summer has just started but it has already been a deadly fire season in New Mexico and a retired Los Alamos scientist says it’s time to use 21st century technology and even the US Air Force to radically change the way states — particularly in the Southwest — and federal government officials fight wildfires.
Chick Keller worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory as a graduate student in 1967 and became a permanent staff member in 1969 and is now the facilities director at the Pajarito Environmental Education Center and says the current system for battling forest fires is dangerously outdated.
From Steven Greene4
*Just two days after the Little Bear Fire near Ruidoso was declared the most destructive in terms of homesites (242) in the history of the state
*Just a couple weeks after Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire in western New Mexico surpassed last year’s Las Conchas Fire in Los Alamos as the state’s largest in history (about 450 square miles)
*Just hours before residents in the town of Corrales that borders Albuquerque received a close call when a fast-growing bosque fire nearly reached homes and forced the evacuations of 80 people in the Sandia Pueblo due to smoke concerns
Here’s Keller’s take on a better way to fight wildfires:
Keller’s specifics come while the debate about forest management and fire suppression is raging.
US Forest Service officials called a news conference this past weekend to defend their handling of the Little Bear Fire after Congressman Steve Pearce criticized their efforts in the early stages of the fire and while Gov. Susana Martinez hailed the efforts of fire crews in the Ruidoso area and said critiques can come once the Little Bear Fire is put out, she appeared on NBC Nightly News last week and said that “year after year after year of mismanagement” of national forests contributed — as well as exceedingly dry conditions — to the intensity of recent fires.
Keller says it’s crucial to think differently and to think bigger about fire suppression, even if some might disagree with his suggestions.
“Look, okay maybe this isn’t the best way to do it,” he said, “but we need to do something. I think hearings would do it; calling for scientific and technical meetings to really evaluate this.”
Posted under Capitol Report.
Tags: Capitol Report New Mexico, Chick Keller, Las Conchas Fire, Little Bear Fire, Los Alaamos National Laboratory, NBC Nightly News, Pajarito Environmental Education Center, Steve Pearce, Susana Martinez, US Forest Service, Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire
7:34 pm on June 21st, 2012
Michelle Malkin has a post up today that is very relevant to this discussion: “How Obama Bureaucrats Fueled Western Wildfires”
http://michellemalkin.com/2012/06/20/how-obama-bureaucrats-fueled-western-wildfires/ Her point is that we HAD aerial resources for fighting fires, and the Feds (and California) have actively shut them down.
6:46 am on June 22nd, 2012
In reference to the statement “*Just two days after the Little Bear Fire near Ruidoso was declared the most destructive in terms of homesites (242) in the history of the state”, I think that the Cerro Grande fire of May 2000 destroyed more than 400 homes and caused more than one billion dollars in damage according to the GAO.
Also, the Las Conchas Fire, covered 156,593 acres (244.6 square miles) not 450 square miles.
8:21 am on June 22nd, 2012
I have to agree with Docduke and Michelle Malkin, any internet search will quickly reveal we have significant aerial assets in regards to fire bombers and helicopters. The retardants that have been developed are amazing – both fire suppressant as well as fertilizers to help the forests come back after the fire. So, we don’t need to spend more money to buy more aircraft, we need those aircraft to get off the ground. Another point: the US Air Force is tasked with destroying the enemies of this nation – they drop bombs and shoot down airplanes, they don’t fight fires. We already have a fleet of aerial fire-bombers, lets use those and let the free-market work like it supposed to. Heck we could have brought in Evergreen’s 747 fire bomber
9:43 am on June 22nd, 2012
Main problem I see is Why not gather up ALL the Treehugging Enviros and put their butts on the fire line ??? where they MIGHT do some good ..
9:43 am on June 24th, 2012
@Bob Shuttles:
The Cerro Grandé fire destroyed, as I recall, 242 structures and more than 400 homes. Many of the structures destroyed by that fire were multi-home structures (e.g., duplexes). So, the distinction that the article makes is in terms of the number of structures destroyed, not the number of homes.
4:02 pm on June 25th, 2012
Come on people fire burns through retardent all the time. I know it just happened to us last week and happens all the time . Lets focus on the ground resources and how we can improve their capabilities. Because all I see is budget cuts