Muledeer4me
New member
make up ground in fire war
Kathleen Clarke
"It's said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Likewise, every year the most daunting, arduous, and longest fire line is constructed one shovel-full at a time; one swing of a pulaski, one air tanker drop, one hose stream of water after another.
It may take hours. It may take days.
At times, a fire rages back and takes the upper hand.
But eventually diligence and dedication win out.
One by one, wildfires are surrounded and contained. Missions are accomplished; and fire crews, equipment, and aircraft move on to the next blaze.
Already this spring headlines warn of yet another potentially serious fire season ahead.
News reports, using words like "dire" and "grim" to describe the outlook, cite continuing drought conditions and forecasts for a hot and abnormally dry summer in many areas of the West.
We are indeed facing another summer of severe conditions and the potential for a fire season that may rival that of 2000, 2002, and others.
And just as in the past, we'll meet those challenges head-on; professionally, safely, and with diligence and dedication. Firefighters are prepared and will again construct fire line, as much as it takes, one piece at a time.
While steps continue to be achieved in the suppression realm, we are also making progress in a journey of a different sort.
This new journey — reducing hazardous fuels near communities and across the landscape — is being undertaken with equal commitment and diligence. Although the road is long, we're making headway acre by acre.
Assessments following the 2000 fire season identified 190 million acres of public land, across all agencies, that needed treatments to reduce hazardous fuels, better protect communities, and restore the health of the land. About 11,000 communities were deemed at risk from wildfire.
Those numbers were staggering. For fire managers, it was similar to a firefighter looking up at a towering mountain over which a fire line must be constructed. But like that firefighter, we took one step, then another and another. Collectively, we turned those steps into strides.
In the BLM alone, treatments were accomplished on 267,570 acres near communities last year, and 313,416 acres in wildland areas.
The total acreage treated in 2003 increased 85 percent since 2001. As of early April, 192,042 acres have been treated this year, with nearly double that amount still planned.
These accomplishments are being achieved through partnerships with citizen groups, other federal agencies, and local, tribal and state governments. They also are in addition to strides we've made in fire education and in assisting community fire departments to enhance their capabilities.
There is no doubt, however, that we have a long journey ahead. There also is no doubt we will continue striving toward that next step, or that we will continue working with our counterparts and homeowners to accomplish fuel reductions across boundary lines.
So what do these accomplishments mean? It means that this summer, when firefighters are building fire line one shovel-full at a time, their work may be a little safer where treatments were done.
It means more communities can rest easier, knowing the threat of wildfire as been reduced. It means one more fire may not become a catastrophic event.
Finally, it means we are well on our way on this journey. Like the firefighter diligently working far up the line but with miles to go, we are leaving a solid path in our wake and progressing forward.
The work we are doing together is helping make the land healthier and communities safer. We are making a difference. And we will continue.
Kathleen Clarke is national director of the Bureau of Land Management."
Kathleen Clarke
"It's said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Likewise, every year the most daunting, arduous, and longest fire line is constructed one shovel-full at a time; one swing of a pulaski, one air tanker drop, one hose stream of water after another.
It may take hours. It may take days.
At times, a fire rages back and takes the upper hand.
But eventually diligence and dedication win out.
One by one, wildfires are surrounded and contained. Missions are accomplished; and fire crews, equipment, and aircraft move on to the next blaze.
Already this spring headlines warn of yet another potentially serious fire season ahead.
News reports, using words like "dire" and "grim" to describe the outlook, cite continuing drought conditions and forecasts for a hot and abnormally dry summer in many areas of the West.
We are indeed facing another summer of severe conditions and the potential for a fire season that may rival that of 2000, 2002, and others.
And just as in the past, we'll meet those challenges head-on; professionally, safely, and with diligence and dedication. Firefighters are prepared and will again construct fire line, as much as it takes, one piece at a time.
While steps continue to be achieved in the suppression realm, we are also making progress in a journey of a different sort.
This new journey — reducing hazardous fuels near communities and across the landscape — is being undertaken with equal commitment and diligence. Although the road is long, we're making headway acre by acre.
Assessments following the 2000 fire season identified 190 million acres of public land, across all agencies, that needed treatments to reduce hazardous fuels, better protect communities, and restore the health of the land. About 11,000 communities were deemed at risk from wildfire.
Those numbers were staggering. For fire managers, it was similar to a firefighter looking up at a towering mountain over which a fire line must be constructed. But like that firefighter, we took one step, then another and another. Collectively, we turned those steps into strides.
In the BLM alone, treatments were accomplished on 267,570 acres near communities last year, and 313,416 acres in wildland areas.
The total acreage treated in 2003 increased 85 percent since 2001. As of early April, 192,042 acres have been treated this year, with nearly double that amount still planned.
These accomplishments are being achieved through partnerships with citizen groups, other federal agencies, and local, tribal and state governments. They also are in addition to strides we've made in fire education and in assisting community fire departments to enhance their capabilities.
There is no doubt, however, that we have a long journey ahead. There also is no doubt we will continue striving toward that next step, or that we will continue working with our counterparts and homeowners to accomplish fuel reductions across boundary lines.
So what do these accomplishments mean? It means that this summer, when firefighters are building fire line one shovel-full at a time, their work may be a little safer where treatments were done.
It means more communities can rest easier, knowing the threat of wildfire as been reduced. It means one more fire may not become a catastrophic event.
Finally, it means we are well on our way on this journey. Like the firefighter diligently working far up the line but with miles to go, we are leaving a solid path in our wake and progressing forward.
The work we are doing together is helping make the land healthier and communities safer. We are making a difference. And we will continue.
Kathleen Clarke is national director of the Bureau of Land Management."
