May 28, 2004

Due to the fortunate fact that I sometimes provide visual news coverage to the local newspaper Bend Bugle/bend.com (which I guess makes me an official member of the media - ha!), I had the opportunity yesterday to attend the annual "Media Fire Safety Training". This training is required for media folks who want to get into the field and report from or shoot the firelines.

So over 3 hours, the good people from the U.S. Forest Service, the Oregon Department of Forestry, and the Sheriff's Department for Emergency Services lectured a glum crowd of 26 reporters on how very bad this wildfire season is going to be.

What else is new, guys? A short hike into the woods of Central Oregon will tell even a blind guy that the whole region is about as dry as a large stack of kindling, only waiting to have a match dropped onto. What I want to know is - where did all the money go that the tax-payers shelled out for preventative fire measures under the umbrella of Cowboy Shrub's "Healthy Forest" initiative?

Oh, right. That went to the big logging companies. And maybe to some of the people who stood in front of us, wasting 3 hours on something that could have been communicated in about 20 minutes (including the fun little hands-on fireshelter training session).

In addition, they shared the encouraging news that the 33 airtankers, that are usually used to drop flame-retardent onto large-scale fires, were definitely grounded due to safety concerns. While not exactly new news, it was certainly sobering to hear that there is really no chance at this condition being changed, no matter how bad the fires get this season...

On the bright side, we were told by the perky lady from the Dept. of Forestry, their forces would possibly have 2 tankers available, but since the DoF serves private land owners only, those tankers could NOT be used on public or US Forest fires. Oh, gee, guys. That makes sense. Sure, let those public land fires burn. After all, there is so nobody living NEXT to federal forests around here ...

What worries me most though, is that my little home town of La Pine was mentioned several times as a major focal point of wildfire concerns. But hey. At least I will be the first on the fireline, before all those other poor suckers who'll need to drive the half hour from Bend down here. Who said there were no benefits to living in La Pine?

But seriously. Sarcasm aside - while I hope that I won't even even have to touch my Nomex gear (so generiously provided to me by the U.S. Forest Service) this summer, the chances are very likely that I will.

And I'll be damned if I don't bring back honest images from the fireline - vivid reminders that the "Healthy Forest" plan is just a big lie, a cover-up for the Bush administration to shove some more money up the logging industry's collective ass, only to be able to turn around and ask for re-election "donations".

And who are the people who will be ultimately paying for it all? That's right. You and me. The people who live here, and will have to fear for their homes and possessions all summer long.