Wildfires burn while government diddles
Oct 27th, 2007 by Mark
Government Slackers Fight Back
CALFIRE, and Forestry service blaming everyone else for their failures
The debate is still raging over why helicopters were not put to use during the recent firestorm earlier than they were. As I have blogged, I believe it’s CALFIRE and it’s bureaucrats that are the problem. Instead of doing their jobs, they had their nose stuck in a rule book they wrote that protects CALFIRE’s favored contractors. CALFIRE is a classic example of why government should be small, and on a short leash.
Same old Excuses for failure
Once again we have the same tired old excuse that it’s not CALFIRE’s fault, and that the Marines and Navy are to blame. Remember these guys fly more time than any of the CALFIRE folks. They also fly more dangerous missions than the CALFIRE folks do.
The head of the state’s firefighting agency lashed out at the Marines and U.S. Forest Service, saying the military had failed to commit to the training necessary to launch helicopters more quickly. The Forest Service had neglected to provide enough helicopter managers to launch the aircrafts when they became available, he said.
You may remember that same excuse from the last fire catastrophe we had. CALFIRE kept claiming that the Marines and Navy were not qualified to fly a bucket of water and dump it on a target. What a joke.
Bureacrats Feelings hurt
Poor government workers, it’s so tough being overpaid and then having to perform, and failing miserably. Boo-hoo.
“We’re getting all of this criticism and I don’t want to get into saying it should have been the Forest Service, should have been the Marines,” said Ruben Grijalva, chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “But that’s why I’m talking today because it’s affecting the morale of this organization.”
No Ruben, it’s your failure as the head of CALFIRE that is causing this. You failed at your job; the real one — protecting the public — , not the job you think you have — Union shill, and protector of special interests.
No really we tried
Add to this the bullcrap being pumped out by the entrenched bureaucrats at the Fed levels. The same dummies who won’t clear brush without 3 gazillion town hall meetings.
The Forest Service disputed Grijalva’s claim, saying that providing fire spotters for Marines wasn’t solely a federal responsibility. Forest Service officials also cast doubt on assertions by members of the military and several members of California’s Congressional delegation that the Marine helicopters were ready days before they were called into action.
They were ready on Monday, they did not get to fly till Thursday. Let’s see, one, two, three DAYS. Dumbass.
Look over there at them
More Union/bureaucrat bullcrap. Notice the Union/Gov employees are circling the wagons? More proof we have too much government. It’s clear they know they failed and are desperately trying to shift blame.
Dennis Hulbert, Regional Aviation Officer for the U.S. Forest Service in California, said the Marines were primarily responsible for the delay .
“They had their own problems,” he said.
According to Hulbert, it took the Marines a day to outfit their helicopters with buckets to fight the fires. Once they did, they directed those resources first to fight fires on military land. It wasn’t until Thursday that they were used to fight fires elsewhere in Southern California, he said.
Oh brother. It took CALFIRE 4 days to ok them to fly. What a crock of crap.
Calls to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Miramar Marine base were not immediately returned Saturday. However, according to a letter dated May 10, the base had 38 helicopter pilots trained and ready to support the Forest Service in firefighting efforts.
“We are overwhelmed with bureaucratic regulations and the spotters are the best example of that,” said U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach. “In a time of crisis, the rules did not serve our country well … the bureaucrats lost picture of what their mission is, to protect the citizens.”
Amen!
Previous Posts
- Firestorm Fades
- Day 5 - midday update
- Day 5 - morning update
- Day 4 - evening update
- Day 4 midday update
- Day 4
- Calfire blocking Navy help
- Evening Update
- Midday Update
- Good Morning Ashes
- Late Night Update
- Fire Conditions
- Burn baby, burn!
- Four Years Later
Tags: harris fire, mccoy fire, rice fire, witch fire, buckweed fire, magic fire, ranch fire, canyon fire, malibu, san diego, wildfires, grass valley fire, slide fire, santiago fire, sedgewick fire, roca fire, coronada hills fire, office of emergency services, duncan hunter,