Steven Pyne, the author of many books about wildland fire, has written an amazing op/ed piece for the Washington Post titled “From Yosemite to Colorado, our approach to wildfires is all wrong”.
It is the most interesting article I have read in a long time, due in part, of course, to the wisdom of his ideas about how to coexist with the wildfire problems facing us. But what makes it a joy to read is his extraordinary gift as a wordsmith. About every third sentence I encountered a word, phrase, or a way of looking at an issue that was surprising, in a good way — arrangements of words that have rarely if ever been used in the context of wildland fire management.
You must read it, but here are some examples:
- “misdiagnosed the problem”
- “retrofitting houses”
- “irrationally exuberant sprawl”
- “fire repression”
- “translating ideas into programs”
- “pluralism of fire programs”
- “ill-sited McMansions”
- “climate change may flip the script”
- “fire equivalent of a flood plain”
- “emergency interventions rather than systemic reforms”
You are welcome.
Thanks go out to Bruce
