Would You Favor a National Air Fleet to Fight Forest Fires?

Question

Currently, some states have to maintain the fewest airplanes they can because they are too expensive to keep all year in terms of crews and maintenance. They buy the cheapest used planes they can and we depend on that. They buy few, or no, helicopters and amphibians that can scoop water without landing and fly back to the fire faster than planes that must land far away.

We had Santa Ana wind driven fires recently and we expect more every year but how about New Mexico, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, etc.

Forest fires give the most global warming gases and there is no global, or national, plan to fight them.

There is no way to say "That's YOUR forest fire, it is not MY problem." Once the CO2 is in the air, the entire globe warms up, droughts get worst and forest fires increase -in an ever worse cycle that feeds itself and compounds itself.

Answer 1

sounds like a good idea to me.

Answer 2

The answer is not more airplanes.  The answer is preventing fires that may destroy homes or injure people.  Control-burning goes a long way towards accomplishing this.....it works in other parts of the country.  Keep in mind that most forest fires occur naturally....via lightning.  There are a few idiots out there who start them accidently or intentionally.

Answer 3

It will be a good idea, i vote for it !

Answer 4

The problem is that aircraft are very expensive. It's considerably more reasonable to prevent and mitigate fires as much as possible.

Howver, when (if) the mess in the middle east settles down, the US will have a great many surplus aircraft and rugged vehicles well suited to fire-fighting.

Answer 5

You don't know that ANY fire district (even interstate) can request and usually (Almost Always) receive assistance from districts with Aerial Fire Fighting machines and ALL other resources - unless they are 'tied up' fighting their own local fires?

I've talked to fire crews from Southern CA fighting a big fire in Oregon.

Are you foolish enough to believe the Santa Anna Winds are caused by GW?