Will Muslim Terrorists Burn the Western States?

Independent Logic | June 12, 2002 | Silas

[SJackson]

This is a plausible idea, low risk, easy to execute, high probability of escape.

What’s missing is the drama. High monetary damage (in a broad coordinated attack). Low loss of life. We see this on CNN every summer.

Accountability, low. We get away with it.

We take credit, GWB blames lightening. Who believes us?

We do damage (to the insurers), but who do we terrorize?

[Travis McGee]

I think that we would need to deputize thousands of armed volunteer "forest wardens" to have any chance at all to prevent this type of attack.

Naturally, this idea will be anathema to the fedgov, which would prefer to shoot down airliners rather than arm their civilian pilots.

After a firestorm attack, some western governors may act on their own to duputize forest wardens, most likely it will be against the wishes of federal homeland security edicts.

[Travis McGee]

All good ideas, because the faster each fire is found, and the faster the multiple fires are seen as a coordinated attack, the better.

On 9-11 they grounded the planes and stopped some other hijackings, after a fire attack we will probably have to restrict access to some areas, and institute (ugh) checkpoints, looking for out of state tag arabs.

The faster we do this, the better we will be able to limit the damage.

[Travis McGee]

Hopefully the arsonists would act in a bush league uncoordinated way so that acccess could be restricted.

My fear is a team setting 50-100 fires in a line in two hours. There would be no time to see the total picture until it was a fait accompli.

[Travis McGee]

No one will believe lightning for a fire 500 to 1000 miles wide racing ahead at 100 to 200+ miles per day.

The drama is entire towns being stranded and wiped out by pincers of fire.

Also the drama is smoke like the Kuwait oil field fires choking the west and killing the elderly etc.

[mercy]

I had this same brain fart today. Didn't want to say anything but I think you are right. They've already thought of it and we need to get it out in the light of day for the American people.

We've set ourselves up for this one by not clearing the deadwood out of the forests. This was once done for free by wood scavengers all over the national forests but we stopped them in most places.

We also have absurd situations as in Texas where we have allowed the invirowhackos to mandate non clearing of brush on a massive scale in the name of species protection. One could burn down the entire West side of Austin Tx with one match on a windy day.

Rural property owners should keep a wary eye out. Profiling is mandatory. Look for Arab men driving around in wooded or brushy areas and alert the authorities.

[VOA]

For a bit of info. on The Big Fire of 1910 (three million acres burned), check URL below.

http://www.idahoforests.org/fires.htm

Reading this story of what Nature Hath Wrought, might be instructive about
what a group of terrorist would have to do to make a worse disaster.
(And I hope our guvmint is thinking about how to make sure they can't.)

[RightWhale]

We've set ourselves up for this one by not clearing the deadwood out of the forests

That's right. We should all go into the woods and remove deadwood, trim all low and overhanging branches, and cut back the low bushes that tend to grow between mature trees and provide cover for terrorists. Everywhere, especially within reach of towns and cities. And especially in National Forests. Our forests are becoming disgusting; there is nothing in nature to compare to compare with a well managed forest.

[SJackson]

No one will believe lightning for a fire 500 to 1000 miles wide racing ahead at 100 to 200+ miles per day....

Not lightening, global warming?

I don't mean to minimize the risk, other than the risk of being caught, which is minimal. Lots of damage, and if I'm right and you're wrong, it's only for the first occurance. By the third, we'd believe the terrorist's proclamations. It's missing the short term sizzle, but it's effective, and could have a cumulative effect similar to the bombers in Israel.

Aside from prairie or forest fires, urban arson could be a technique of terror. This block, that block, one dies here, four there, brings the risk home to all of us.

[RightWhale]

Another preventive action would be to cut firebreaks now. Highways and bare ground act as firebreaks. Put fairly wide roadlike clearings everywhere we might want to stop a fire. Don't even let it be possible for a fire to burn more than a few miles before it runs out of fuel. And keep the firebreaks clear from now on. It would also make it much more difficult for terrorists to sneak around.

[Travis McGee]

I agree we need to keep an eye out, but I think that once again they are going to get a "free" sucker punch, like 9-11.

[Travis McGee]

I think that a super firestorm would create such updrafts that burning branches would be hurled 1000s of feet ahead. Firebreaks would have to be enormous!

[glc1173@aol.com]

Remember the hundreds of arson forest fires and brush fires started by Australian children in a few months a couple years ago?

They weren't even coordinated attacks. Just lots of individual prank fires in copycat incidents. And they were devastating.

[Travis McGee]

Urban or rural, the butane lighter could become a horrible weapon of terrorism.

Of course if this started happening on a regular basis, every mosque in America would be burned the same week, and muslims would have to go into hiding.

[RightWhale]

Fires jump roads, main highways, sometimes. That would be at least 200 feet. Say if firebreaks were every mile and wide enough to stop most fires, and the forests were cleaned out of deadwood, low branches, and other ground fuels, just for consideration. That would cut forested area by 10%, but would probably have other benefits besides making fire control a lot easier, such as improved wildlife habitat. Maybe an environmentalist could do something actually useful and design a national firebreak system on his computer . . . optimum spacing, optimum width, that kind of thing.

Then, of course there are tundra fires, which Alaska gets every summer, huge fires, lots of smoke that travels hundreds of miles but burns only a few illegal cabins and no loss of human life usually.

[Travis McGee]

If we do suffer a terrorist arson attack super firestorm, you can bet that a national firebreak system will become a priority very fast.

The 10% given up to the spacing can be leased for farmland, parks, etc.

[Travis McGee]

On 2nd thought it won't fly. Such a system runs counter to the enviro dream of totally connected wilderness zones, with field mice and grizzlies roaming in continuous forest land corridors from Canada to Mexico. That is Holy Writ to them.

Consider Camp Pendleton Marine Base between San Diego and LA. In time of war, with Marines facing combat, the enviros permit the Marines to practice amphibious operations on 500 feet out of 17 miles of the base's coastline, lest the brutal ugly jarheads disturb the Lesser Western Green Throated Blue Balled Sand Flea.

[RightWhale]

The work could be contracted out to lumber companies and paper mills. It shouldn't be a problem to finance, and the open spaces could be used in a variety of ways, like you said. A lot of people would want to live there, too, if they can get homestead grants. Hunting would be good.

[Mr_Magoo]

Speculation:

A car would not even need to stop if highway safety flares were lit and tossed out the window . . .

[Travis McGee]

Scary! Or molotov cocktails, with the "gunner" tossing them out the side of a van.