Art of Conservatism---December 11, 2017

Who's to blame for 'California  Burning'?

We The People have all heard about the California wildfires which have been occuring more and later through the year. It seems that fire season in the Golden (sic) State has been getting to be longer and longer with each passing year. The loss in lives and property has been staggering, especially lately. This year, 2017, and Governor “Moonbeam” Brown is now stating that this is the new norm—a year-round fire season in the state. Well, waddaya know..... another reason for residents to flee, or to not move there---if they know what's good for them.

There has been an interesting omission in this scenario. As far as I can tell, and this is all anecdotal, I have heard next to nothing from the Environmentalist Wacko Movement about any of this. And I suspect that there is a reason for it. I'm here to tell you why. It's because the EWM is, at least in part, responsible for the collective conflagration.

Why? Because the EWM has for decades been opposed to clearing out wilderness areas of dead brush and trees (Let's leave the natural habitat natural, they brey.) Which means that all that dead brush and branches eventually become, sooner rather than later, an abundant fuel for a fire to consume. It is, frankly, the torch waiting to be burned, and thus to also transmit the fire to the existing live foliage, especially the pine trees which are so abundant out there.

It's not more complicated than that. Get rid of the existing dry stuff, and diminish or eliminate the danger of fire burning homes, businesses, livestock, wild animals, and people.

But, bring up that idea, or even the subject, of removing the fuel a wildfire needs, and then listen for the mingled screams of rage and pain from the EWM and much of the rest of the left. It's like a part of them is being amputated. But, as a conservative, I believe that conserving both private and public money takes precedence. It's far cheaper to send in the National Guard, or better yet, trustee inmates from the state's prisons to do the job (and the pay the inmates would get can all go toward restitution to the victims of their crimes), than it is to pay for the herculanean task of putting out a fast-moving fire, not to mention the costs to insurance companies for the loss of private property and such.

It's time to overrule the demands of the EWM, and cut out the cause of the greatest threat, other than earthquakes, that California faces. And, it's time for victims of these disasters to seriously consider suing the various “environmental groups” which for far too long have been ruling the state's wilderness areas and demanding 'no dry foliage removal', to the detriment of all else in the Golden State.

For Art of Conservatism, I'm Art Reis.