Dear Editor,
The firestorm seemed endless. You could see it lapping over the top of the Sapphire Mountains. A spot fire that could have been put out became a raging inferno of thousands of acres, as the Forest Service did nothing but “protect structures.” Not only were the wildlife being burned to death, and losing their habitat just before winter, but our streams will be polluted and the health of our valley and its citizens affected.
A recent letter to the editor by Dallas Erickson was so right on. The earth is sterilized by these fires; these forests won’t come back.
Taxpayers are paying big time for these “out of control” fires that could have been stopped at the beginning.
That dust you see on your vehicles and on and in your homes during the fires is also filtering into your lungs. If you pull up Wild Fires on the internet, it will tell you which toxic pollutants are in fire, including carbon monoxide. The tiniest particles are being sucked into your lungs and can cause severe breathing problems, heart palpitations, and heart attacks, just some of the adverse reactions.
The “let burn policy”, started by the former administration and which continues under the interior secretary Salazar, is devastating our forests, wilderness, wildlife, and health. We don’t need a Forest Service that chooses to sit there with all their expensive equipment and do little or nothing.
K. Gervais
Corvallis