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Wrong Beliefs, Wrong Policy: Wrong Outcome

September 23, 2015

We live in a desert. It rains less than 10.9 inches per year.

The fire department fine residents in our area for not clearing brush around our homes or weed-whacking our properties.

We have congresswomen who mandate smog control, requiring $1700 parts to be added to cars that do nothing for the car’s function, but allow someone to feel like they have cleaned the air. (And create a million dollar tax base for our leaders.)

For the last ten years, logging has been banned in our national parks. Dead trees are not cleared away. 

Government instituted a 'no use' policy for the understory of the forest in our national parks. Sheep and cattle used to graze the parks, minimizing the dry brush under the trees. Now through the ‘no-use’ policy the understory has grown.

Enter a drought since 2011.

And one lightning storm this summer, not accompanied by rain.

One tree hit by lightning started a spark on July 31st.

We now have a fire.

Over 3,000 firemen per shift worked to put it out. Tents, trucks, and equipment covered the Squaw Valley rodeo grounds, the library grounds, and the entire block of the Squaw Valley ‘proper’. At their shift change at 7 AM all their big equipment and pickups headed up the hill to the park.

Water dropped on the flames only evaporated before reaching the fire.

News reported that the fire licked up acres (140,000) of national forest, while these men risked their lives, daily, to fight it.

Firemen battled for a month and a half with no success.

Containment was 0%. Evacuation of areas close to the park were enforced. Roads were closed. Children from an elementary school nearby were bused to schools in the valley. Smoke was so thick the stars could not be seen one hour away from the fire. The sun rose red every morning, trying to shine past the thick overcast cloud cover of brown. Planes landing in Fresno, two hours away, had to travel through a thick cloud of brown smoke.

Until September 13th. Ten bulldozers sat at the top of Hwy 180, waiting.

Waiting for what?

Because of policy in our parks that does not allow removal of underbrush, cutting of dead trees, and bulldozing, the firemen had to wait until the fire reached the outside of the park before they could effectively fight it.

We expected them to fight the fire, without allowing them access to the tools they need to do their job.

Once the fire reached the park border, those waiting bull-dozers made fire breaks to prevent fire jumping. By the end of the week it was 68% contained, after 142,000 acres had been burned. Just one week after allowing the firemen their tools to do their job.

Of course the unseasonal rain that dropped on Tuesday and the cooling temperatures (from the high 90-100 to the 70’s) helped.

We have elevated creation above man. The firemen saved a certain tree from fire, but they weren't allowed to remove trees to prevent a community from being evacuated. We preserve the land, not for the future, but from human use.

Instead of worshipping the Creator, we worship the created. And we forget the people He came to save. Our hearts have been darkened. We don’t know truth.

In the midst of all this smoke, I spent thousands of dollars trying to pass smog tests (imposed by the government) for two of our vehicles. Ironic? My vehicles really add that much pollution to the air?

Who’s polluting my air? Who’s the one paying for their wrong policy?

Look at government policy and evaluate what we are worshipping and who they are controlling.

And remember our Creator.

Source:

Website for updates on the fire: http://inciweb.nwcggov/incident/4456/

http://www.currentresults.com/Weather/California/average-yearly-city-precipitation.php



Displaying 1 comment

Amen! All you said was true, and unfortunately, it's unlikely that anything will change.

Author of Biblical fiction, married to my best friend, and challenged by eight sons’ growing pains as I write about what matters.

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