Posted on 09/24/2001 4:05:37 PM PDT by 11th Earl of Mar
|
WASHINGTON (AP) Confusion about whether the Endangered Species Act allowed water to be taken from a river delayed a water drop on a wildfire that killed four firefighters. The amount was relatively small and did not lead to the deaths. The Forest Service's report is due out Wednesday on last summer's deaths in the north-central Cascade Mountains of Washington state. Sources with knowledge of the investigation said there was a delay of almost two hours as Forest Service personnel sought guidance about whether the Fish and Wildlife Service needed to give permission to get water from the Chewuch River, home to several endangered fish. Later in the day, the fire intensified and a mop-up crew was trapped. Firefighters Tom Craven, 30; Devin Weaver, 21; Jessica Johnson, 19; and Karen FitzPatrick, 18, all died. The Forest Service would not comment on the investigation until its report is released. The sources said a helicopter with its 75-gallon bucket could have provided firefighters at most 600 to 900 gallons of water an hour. Two water pumps that were expected to deliver up to 7,200 gallons of water an hour also failed to deliver their full capacity. The primary source of water was supposed to be those pumps, a point that will be made in the final report, one of the sources said. Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo., chairman of the House Resources forests subcommittee, first alleged that a delay related to the Endangered Species Act may have contributed to the deaths. He raised the issue at a hearing on the fire three weeks after the deaths occurred. "We are still sorting through the maze," Josh Penry, McInnis' staff director for the subcommittee, said Monday. "Clearly there was some confusion." Depending on the investigation's outcome, Penry said Congress may need to amend the act to clarify that human life comes before endangered species. The Endangered Species Act doesn't specifically address firefighter safety. A 1995 directive from the Fish and Wildlife Service, which enforces the act, makes clear life and property come first. The directive says: "FIREFIGHTER SAFETY COMES FIRST ON EVERY FIRE, EVERY TIME. ... NEVER delay the measures needed to protect the lives of fire crews waiting for (endangered species) consultation." The directive came after safety problems contributed to the deaths of 14 firefighters near Glenwood Springs, Colo., in 1994. Chris Wood, a top aide to the Forest Service chief during the Clinton administration, said the directive couldn't be clearer. "At best, laying the blame for this tragedy on efforts to protect endangered species is a misreading of the law, and at worst it's a calculated effort to politicize a tragedy," said Wood, now the watershed programs director at Trout Unlimited. The National Marine Fisheries Service, which also is charged with endangered species protection, is stepping up education for its employees, spokesman Brian Gorman said. "There are folks who would like nothing better than to find that the Endangered Species Act is causing problems that it, in fact, is not," Gorman said.
On the Net: National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov/
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. |
And what kind of reporting is this?
Are they a the concencus of people who have seen the report? Are they conclusions taken directly from the report itself? Are these the comments of the AP reporter?
Where are they now drawing the line between reporting and editorializing?
You are correct. That fire had been contained by the hard-core firefighters who had been up there. The four who died were part of the "mop-up" crew that had been sent to take care of it afterwards. This crew were informed by the crew that had contained the fire that they had requested a water drop and it should be there shortly.
The mop-up crew proceeded to call about the water some hours after the expected drop. The fire got going again and these kids were killed (and I do mean kids --- look at the ages).
This is b.s. written in hopes that most people are not up on the facts behind this fire, and the media is too lazy to fully report.
Oh thank goodness, a NEW Report.
Well, that's good enough for me. I don't know how I could have had any doubts.
I'm such a worthless bastard.
Insert sound of me screaming, "You Son of a Bitch!" followed by me slapping myself, really hard, and then slamming myself against wall, storming out and slamming door so hard that something made of glass falls on floor and shatters.
The directive says: "FIREFIGHTER SAFETY COMES FIRST ON EVERY FIRE, EVERY TIME. ... NEVER delay the measures needed to protect the lives of fire crews waiting for (endangered species) consultation."
This makes sense to me.....I think they should prosecute the people who were slow to react to save the lives of their fellow firefighters. Instead..they seem to blame their negligence on an agency. Pretty tacky.
Nature nazi's don't kill firefighters, confused firefighters kill themselves.
Gee, why don't we ask Mr. Wood to read this to the families of the firefighters and police officers who put themselves at risk AND MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE trying to save as many souls as they could when the walls came tumbling down. Ask Mr. Wood if those brave men were "confused."
Oh stop!!! Self-hatred is such a liberal/enviro characteristic, as is hatred of all humankind!!! (grin)
"FIREFIGHTER SAFETY COMES FIRST ON EVERY FIRE, EVERY TIME. ... NEVER delay the measures needed to protect the lives of fire crews waiting for (endangered species) consultation."
See? How is this to be construed? If water was taken from an "endangered species" river for every fire that needed such water, the scumbag liberals would jump up and down, hollering and whining and suing.
Yes, they and their Act cost these firefighters their lives, no matter how you cut it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.