Currently, I work for the Coronado National Forest, near Tucson... Well, folks, we have our first forest fire of the season. Some intrepid hikers started a campfire at the base of a tree, and, of course, this is against wilderness etiquette... Please, be careful, and responsible... Happy Hiking this Summer!...
"Intrepid" is not that word I would use, but yikes.
I would think as long as humans have been around they have started fires that got out of control. Since there are so many more people on earth in the last 200 years, we see housing squeezed in to canyons, desert and forests, areas with natural tinder all around. The old proverb , do not build your house on sand.
I came across a fire crew while biking up in the Cleveland National Forest (behind where I live) yesterday. They were clearing brush and one of fhe guys told me they were going to do a controlled burn up there today. I smelled some smoke late this afternoon.
You guys do a great job, and I SINCERELY appreciate the job you do and the risks you take. Thank you.
We lost our barn and nearly several rescue horses to a CO wildfire started by idiots.
Never underestimate stupidity.
Idiots out there - hope they are fined or prosecuted.
im so sorry. my family grew up in the woods. we were always careful and were taught respect for how powerful fire can be. most of the people there were pretty careful, but i remember these rich city kids that came out and started causing all kinds of trouble. they threw their trash all over, i saw them with a smallish hunting riffle, trying to shoot anything that moved. wild birds, squirrels, rabbits, peoples cats and dogs, our flock of domestic birds. and i don't mind hunting, but they killed several nice fat geese that could have fed some hungry mouths and just left them to rot. they were rude, loud, and eventually we found, very stupid. they built a masive fire on the top of a small canyon, pretty much in the one spot that the wind all found a way out. it got out of control fast, and since the other side was a steep root infestested slope, we had a hard time making it up with buckets without loosing half the water before we got to the fire. we werent near any fire departments, so it took almost an hour before they got there. we lost a lot to those boys foolishness that weekend. i go back sometimes and there are still places, if you know where to look, that show the scars.