I’ve been thinking about all these forest fires we’ve been having lately. Seems it would pay to clean the forest floor now and then, considering the money spent to fight said fires.
Seems to me when I was a kid, they did just that, kept the forest floor clean. They also maintained a system of fire lookout towers throughout the forest, complete with radio communications. Seems we do neither anymore.
Might I suggest we get back to keeping the forest floor clean. Seems it’s our job. Something I think might be worth consideration is; instead of lookout towers, we set up a system of well grounded lighting rods throughout the forest, with about a half acre clearing around it, standing well above the tree tops. This could very well reduce fires considerably.
Myself and a few pilot buddies of mine came up with an idea which might be worth considering; You set up a pilot training program, (considering we are low on qualified pilots,) and you train them to fly a grid over X forest looking for smoke, or any other kind of trouble. Perhaps you could even get the airlines to chip in a bit. This could replace the idea of lookout towers and be a training program to boot. Dual purpose.
I figure if we reduce the number of fires, and redirect that money into productive ideas, instead of it going up in smoke. In the long run it would prove cheaper, or at least give a return on the dollar spent.
Well, that’s my two-cents on the forest fires, my heart goes out to anyone effected, and shame on us for not taking care of business.
George Henry Nichols
July 2026
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