[pct-l] Fire Closures in General

[Lou Filliger]

EL: You said above, " . . . as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else."  It's should be 
pretty obvious that screwing around in an active emergency zone has a very real potential 
for hurting someone else.  In emergency circumstances, you can get other people killed 
just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, regardless of your intentions.

LF: You can if you're careless.  The thing that bugs me is that they have to make the 
decision for us, and in advance.  Close the entire 100 mile section, just because there 
MIGHT be a danger.  Why not trust us to go out, survey the situation, and decide for 
ourselves whether it's dangerous or not?  Sure, the fire might come out of nowhere and so 
might the emergency crews, but that might just as easily happen in an un-closed area.  You 
can't protect us from every single what-if.

If there's a fire raging and firefighting crews circling overhead then I'm not going to go 
into the area in the first place.  If it looks safe then I may go in.  The question boils 
down to one of judgment - am I to be trusted to look after my own safety?

EL: Keeping the forest closed after the fire's out is a different matter, I suppose. 
Fire-weakened trees are a very real danger, and one that would be unexpected for a lot of 
people.  Should the government keep the area closed until the risk factor returns to 
"normal", or just post a warning sign and let people make their own choices?

LF: Eric, since we live in a democracy, it's up to us (the people) to tell the government 
what to do.  I'm saying that by rolling over and playing dead here we're telling them it's 
OK to just close the trail for 100 miles with no visible justification and keep it closed 
until they're darned good and ready to open it.  If this were an imminent danger or a 
recent fire I wouldn't have written this message.  Go look on the posting dates - I waited 
3 weeks giving them the benefit of the doubt.  The longer it goes on the longer it looks 
to me like they just keep it close for the same reason a dog licks himself - because he 
can.

EL: I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's not the bureaucrat's minds you need to be 
changing, it's your fellow citizens who keep suing everyone in sight when they get 
themselves into some kind of unexpected danger and then claim that someone should have 
stopped them.  Yes, fear of lawsuits is a very real problem, but it's not the bureaucrats 
who created the problem, it's the people who file the lawsuits.  Go yell at them if you 
want to yell at someone.

LF: I agree with your last statement 100%, and I wasn't exactly yelling.  "Passionately 
exhorting" might be a better way to put it.

Lou Filliger


Eric