-Caveat Lector- http://www.lewrockwell.com/stein/stein12.html
Federal Forest Fires by Russ Stein The whole state of Colorado is on fire, as wildfires in the federal forests rage out of control. The gigantic Hayman fire burns out of control just a few miles southwest of Denver, at last count having torched 135,000 acres, making it the largest forest fire in state history. It has also destroyed 25 homes, and forced the evacuation of 7,500 people. According to the feds it's all the fault of a villainous US Forest Service forestry technician named Terry Barton, 38. Barton's story is that she accidentally started the Hayman fire while burning an upsetting etter she had received that morning from her estranged husband. Yet heroic federal fire agents have investigated, and now accuse Barton of deliberate arson, and only faking the scene to look like an escaped campfire. Barton is being held without bail, and Colorado's US Attorney has charged her with forest arson, damaging federal property, and lying to federal agents. "Lock her up," says the Rocky Mountain News editorial board. "Worse than Hitler," says a thoughtful post on the Rocky Mountain News message board. Before we hand Barton over to the hysterical lynch mob, and we surely will, we might ponder a few arguments in Barton's defense. First is the issue of proximate cause. The Hayman fire, like Colorado's nine other forest fires, was inevitable, and would have happened anyhow, even if Barton and her sad letter had stayed at home. This is because the state is suffering from the worst drought in 30 years, and the weather in the Rocky Mountains continues to be dry and hot. Surely we can't blame Barton for the drought. Nor is Barton responsible for idiotic government polices that ensure the condition of the federal wildlands as natural fuel bombs of wild, untended underbrush, excessively dense saplings, and dried out thickets of diseased trees, dry timber, kindling, and rotting, insect infested logs. In this condition, and with the current hot, cloudless summer weather on top of the drought, the wildlands would inevitably have started burning this month anyway, just as soon as they were lit by some other match, spark, lightning strike, or heartbroken letter. Perhaps Barton's federal prosecutor should reconsider the charge of damaging federal property, since it could be used against the government as an admission of ownership of property maintained in a condition menacing to civilization. The general rule is that owners are strictly liable for damage caused to neighboring property, without regard to a state of mind like intent or negligence. So will the feds be made to pay for the damage caused by their preserved (but explosive) wildlands to Denver's adjacent suburbs, or to Durango's vacation homes? Don't hold your breath. Next is the issue of contributory negligence, or deliberate malice, on the part of the environmentally conscious who demand that federal forests remain forever preserved and protected in their current dangerous condition. Where is it written that vast swaths of the west must remain in a chaotic, human and industry-free state of nature, forever cycling through wild growth and the savage fires which menace human society? The environmentalists, who are almost uniformly commies or some other species of leftist, plainly enjoy the fact that the west's towns and cities are menaced and disrupted by federal wildfires. The same ridiculous environmental philosophy which is behind the insane hands-off policy for federal lands in the west is openly hostile to development and human society. The movement's bible is an infantile and poorly written book by Edward Abbey called The Monkey Wrench Gang, which celebrates the exploits of a gang of eco-terrorists who attack construction sites, billboards, and bridges, and seek the general destruction of settlement and progress in the west. And we're supposed to blame only poor Terry Barton and her letter for the Hayman fire? It seems to me there's plenty of blame to go around. Hanging out in Durango last weekend I overheard many people openly celebrating the nearby Missionary Ridge fire because it was destroying mostly the expensive second homes and retirement estates north of town. Others with an environmentally friendly appearance declared themselves happy because the fire is thinning the forests, which have grown too thick. These are the same morons who think cigarette smoke and aerosol spray cans destroy the ozone layer, and hyperventilate over the potential ecological impact of logging or mining on federal wildlands. Looking north from town Tuesday afternoon I could see a smoke plume rising from Missionary Ridge that looked like a nuclear mushroom cloud, or 100 World Trade Center attacks. I wonder what that thing is doing to the ozone layer. Lefties may also favor federal wildfires because fire emergencies give the feds the kind of power over society which is utterly foreign to American traditions. It brings to mind the kind of power the Bolsheviks exercised in the Ukraine. Most onerous are the evacuations, where federal firefighters order the evacuation of homes threatened by the fires, and herd displaced families to shelter pathetically in awful public school buildings. And you thought you had escaped... Then there are the paranoid government diktats, beloved of leftists, concerning bar-b-q grills, campfires, compost fires, and butane stoves. The latest fad in Durango is the cell phone informants who rat out drivers dropping anything that looks remotely like a cigarette butt from a car window. Don't call unless you see sparks, says the police spokesperson. One of the most irritating aspects of the whole thing is the worshipful treatment accorded to federal firefighters for their heroic struggle against the forces of nature. Season after season we are forced to acknowledge them for their bravery and sacrifice. But why? If the feds would just care for their lands like other property owners, or allow sensible logging policies, or (gawd forbid!) privatization, we wouldn't need any heroic sacrifices from the firefighters. Do these fires ever start on privately held lands? No. If Barton purposefully set Colorado on fire, then of course she deserves what she is most likely going to get. But at this point we have no idea if it was an accident like she said, or an intentional crime as the feds say. (What's the motive?) Guilty until proven innocent, and all that. Or is it the other way around? I forget. Pause briefly also to consider that Barton is a federal employee. Just imagine if she worked for a logging company like Weyerhaeuser, or for the felonious Arther Anderson. Don't doubt for a minute that some ambitious government lawyer would already have the CEO and the entire board of directors behind bars. Yet no US Forest Service official, or any other fed besides Barton, will ever get punished for the Hayman fire. Respondiat superior liability is always a dubious game, but why should the federal government be exempt from standards it applies to everyone else? So let�s cut out the nonsense and at least acknowledge that Barton is going to be scapegoated for the west's big land problems, which she didn't cause only by herself when she burned up that nasty letter from her ex. The Hayman fire, like Colorado's other fires, owes far more to delusions about nature untouched by humanity than to Terry Barton's burned letter. June 22, 2002 Russ Stein [send him mail] is a defense lawyer out West. 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