First off, thanks for fighting fires. I did it for a number of years and now do dozer contract work for some agencies. I miss engaging on the regular.
But I have to strongly disagree with what you wrote above. I’ve seen a lot of BS closures in my day. There are some absolute wacko rangers/managers that have made some poor decisions when it comes to closures in the name of “safety”
For instance- in Colorado, this year, there have been THOUSANDS of acres closed down to all recreational activities because there was a fire LAST YEAR!!!
When is it safe to enter public lands? When the almighty “Ranger” grants us peasants permission??? Mind blowing.
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I don’t know where the line in the sand is, but closing places because it “might” burn or someone “might” get hurt is insane to me.
More people are killed “recreating” on public lands than have ever died due to fire related injuries. It’s not even debatable. Locally we have multiple medical emergencies weekly. Atv accidents, horse related injuries, slips and falls etc. yet we don’t “close” public lands down….
You guys that are ok with hunting areas being shut down cause it might burn, or even being sympathetic to that blow my mind. I sometimes cannot believe the stuff I read my fellow hunters post.