<OT> To all New Zealand SxS members

[Gerry Doris]

On Sat, 23 Aug 2003, Bob Hemus wrote:

> 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

I was listening to an interview with a supervisor from the Ontario team
that's out in BC.  Apparently most of our Ontario fire fighters are out
there working under the guidance of the local folks (as are teams from 
Montana etc).

The supervisor was saying how important it was for this reporting
structure as his people weren't used to fighting fires in mountainous
terrain.  Northern Ontario is basically flat with lots of lakes.  In BC
they've been on mountain sides with temperatures often well over 30C.  The 
gear they have to carry is heavy and different.  Here they don't worry too 
much about drinking water but it's a major concern in BC.

It was an interesting interview.

-- 
Gerry

"The lyfe so short, the craft so long to learne"  Chaucer