Letter to the Editor: Butte Fire

   Dear Editor:

   It has taken me two days to write this after watching the September 15, 2015 Tuolumne Board of Supervisors presentation by Cal Fire's Josh White on the Butte Fire. I wasn't there; I watched it on Youtube.

   I admit that I live across the river, actually in Columbia, but spend much time in Calaveras County, so please print my letter.

   Mr. White seems like a very nice man, but there were some things that just didn't set right with me during his presentation.

   This was when there were a little over 100 homes destroyed; but he was making references to the Rim Fire. And he sounded scared. He was apparently in charge.

   The first thing that made me sit up was "we should pray" for the fire to be stopped. That was a scary statement, like Cal Fire has no power to stop fires.

    I'm a Christian, but not only do I not like my government to bring in religion, but wouldn't it be better if they had called in for enough help the day is started, I believe that was the 9th of September?.

   Prayer does NOT put out fires; air tankers, helicopters and bulldozers DO!  I'm sorry to tell Mr. White that NO amount of praying will stop your house from burning without proper fire equipment.

   Then he went on to admit that people who had clear cut their property, many acres in fact, were still burned out, because burning embers can carry on the wind for miles.

   In spite of the fact that the Fire Safe Councils policy in California is now a proven failure, Mr. White went on to promote them, and ask for more money for this failed group.

   It sounded like Dick Cheney promoting another Iraq war, in spite of the fact that it was also a proven disaster; killing our men, spending trillions of US dollars.

   When will our government ever learn?  I don't blame Mr. White. He has been brainwashed into believing that all these government bureaucracies, which feed on us and want to control us, should always continue (self preservation).

   One final point, not to go on for too long; he mentioned one of his Cal Fire family losing his home.

     Yes, it was true that a Cal Fire firefighter lost his home, I believe in the Valley Fire, and he had total "down to the dirt" scraped around his property. Nothing helped.

   This is another government sickness.  THEIR government family is the most important and we should feel badly for them. 

   We do, Mr. White; but we also feel sick about the other 500 of the "civilians", as government authorities call us, who lost homes in the Butte Fire.

   All right! That's enough. I've had my say. Thanks for listening! R in Columbia