Why am I not surprised to read letters here calling to ban fireworks? Following this logic, we should ban lighters, matches and morons.
However, there was a great story on forest management (“Wildfires reignite fire management practices debate,” Sept. 8). I don’t agree with every aspect of the story, but the forests need to be cared for by foresters. In Skamania County we have four fires burning, all human-caused, as there have been no lightning storms. Had there been rangers patrolling, as in the past, perhaps one or two could have been prevented.
In the past, I spent many days each year in the woods — hunting, fishing, camping, and cutting firewood. With the headquarters in Hemlock then, the rangers had a short drive to the forest roads; we saw them often. They would stop and chat, check that our campfire was safe, and that we had tools to care for it; a shovel and a supply of water were mandatory.
In July, my wife and I drove from Trout Lake to Carson on the Carson-Guler road. Though campfire restrictions were well-posted, we saw many campfires, and not one ranger.
