<OT> To all New Zealand SxS members

[Bob Hemus]

Ted Ozolins wrote:

> Collins Richey wrote:
>
>>
>> The one thing we Americans and Canadians have in common, besides the
>> language, is the best politicians money can buy.  They all suck.
>>
> I just learned that the reason that we (here in B. C.) are short of 
> manpower to address these fires is that a Workers Compaensation ruling 
> requires that anyone fighting a forest fire must possess cirtification 
> by the Forestry. <snip>

Not so sure that is as bad as you think.  Back in my youth I used to 
fall timber on fires.  Big trees like you have.  Back then they would 
hire a guy that went out and buy a saw for the big bucks.  If he didn't 
kill himself he could do it to a couple others,  also.  I'm not 
defending all of their rules or procedures.  I have a kid (43 year old 
kid) who's on one of the special overhead teams for the USFS/BLM/??, the 
trouble with those teams as I see it is they move in on the locals that 
know the lay of the land and take over.  In '87 they really botched 
about a quarter million burn around Happy Camp.  Some jerk from Arizona 
tried to light a big back-burn 10 muiles long at the bank of the Klamath 
River 3 or 4 ridges away from the fire!  Fortunatley it was so smokey 
and cold it wouldn't take.  Oh well I'd better quit. I get real radical.
Bob