On Tuesday's NBC Nightly News, while reporting from Lake Tahoe, correspondent George Lewis relayed one homeowner's complaint that environmental regulations had contributed to the danger of wildfires in the area. She further contended that the only reason her home survived was because she had cleared away brush near her home in violation of the law. Lewis: "She blames environmentalists and bureaucrats for creating rules that, in her opinion, increased the fire hazard. Says she had to break the law to clear brush off adjacent federal land."
Below is a complete transcript of the report by George Lewis from the Tuesday June 26 NBC Nightly News:
GEORGE LEWIS: As the fire has jumped those lines, additional evacuations of people who live here are under way. This, as people who live in the previously burned areas were trying to get back home. This morning, after she pleaded, argued and reasoned with the authorities, Sue Abrams was granted permission to return to her home, still standing in one of the burned out areas.
SUE ABRAMS: The fence is gone, most of my landscaping is gone, but we have our home. My neighbor Jason's over there right now. He doesn't have a home. It's gone.
LEWIS: She blames environmentalists and bureaucrats for creating rules that, in her opinion, increased the fire hazard. Says she had to break the law to clear brush off adjacent federal land.
ABRAMS: I took the chance and said, "Okay, come arrest me."
LEWIS: She says that's what saved her house, creating a space around it that wouldn't burn. Fire experts say that people who live in wooded areas like this one are taking a big chance that they won't be wiped out by forest fires, but the new residents keep coming. Since 1982, 8.6 million new homes have been constructed in the West within 30 miles of national forest land.
REX NORMAN, U.S. Forest Service: Here in the Tahoe basin, we have one of the highest percentages of urban development of any national forest area in the United States.
LEWIS: Environmentalist Autumn Bernstein, with the Sierra Nevada Alliance, forced from her home by the fire, says man has turned the Sierra into a tinderbox.
AUTUMN BERNSTEIN, Sierra Nevada Alliance: We're still doing penance for 100 years of bad forest management in the Sierra. We have lots and lots of forests that are just choked full of dead brush and small trees.
LEWIS: A situation further complicated by a population boom here as people gamble that this won't happen to them.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
OH SAVE THE TREES, well that'
June 27, 2007 - 01:48 ET by upcountrywaterOH SAVE THE TREES, well that's what you get ashes,dust.
People in Indonesia (Bali) have groomed the forests for thousands of years with out power tools, no out of control fires there!
Sue Abrams is looking at a lawsuit that will take away her home.
So Bernstien (autumn lol) what 100 years? it's the last 40 of your eco kooks program , that has and WILL burn down all the trees. Get a permit to cut a tree no can't do that.. Yea let nature take it's course .
.Nature ahh soo pristine as in a snake bite!
you think we would of learn
June 27, 2007 - 01:51 ET by Conservative Voiceyou think we would of learned from the Yellowstone fire
I get so fed up with this foo
June 27, 2007 - 07:49 ET by USA4freedomI get so fed up with this foolishness. But don’t forget, there is a thought to their madness. They want your house to burn down. They don’t want you near any forest. Remember the A-holes that burned up the SUV’s in the dealers parking lot. “They were saving us all from ourselves.” These are the same fools that want to ban hunting because its too cruel then go back home in the city, and fire up the grill.
I ran a restaurant/bar in Hoboken NJ, I was talking to a patron about bird hunting in the Catskills. A woman got up and started yelling at me (in my own place) about hunting. For starts I told her it was legal and I don’t have to discuss this with her. Now that she started it, I looked over to see what she was eating. I described just how that hamburger got on her plate..step by step. She looked green, pitched her money on the table and yelled to every one that could hear that she would never come in again. Almost every clapped when she left.
These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc.
Ronald Reagan- 40th Anniversary of D-Day
Where was it that these "
June 27, 2007 - 10:12 ET by sunandsteelWhere was it that these "environmentalists" burned down a housing development to "save the wetlands" and ended up destroying said wetlands.
Texas has a population of nearly 21 million people, all of whom are ashamed to be from the same state as the Dixie Chicks. (IMAO.us)
I'm not sure of the specific
June 27, 2007 - 10:34 ET by danboI'm not sure of the specific location referred to but the Earth Liberation Front has been active. Here.
From the Earth Liberation Front webpage.
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
Yea let nature take it's cour
June 27, 2007 - 11:50 ET by taznarAmen!
And humans, being a product of nature, use their natural intelligence to perceive a future threat to their life/livelihood and apply their natural tool-making ability and intelligence to remove that threat.
In other words, "nature's course" is that humans break out the chainsaws, trucks and matches, and remove the dead brush!
It really all comes quite naturally to most of us.
They have no problems with an
June 27, 2007 - 11:54 ET by danboThey have no problems with animals changing the environment within their ability. Animals that chase off or kill preceived threats. Beavers that build ponds. Birds that build nest.
But if man changes the environment. that's not natural.
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
says man has turned the Sierr
June 27, 2007 - 07:51 ET by dahliatraverssays man has turned the Sierra into a tinderbox
No, man moved into a tinderbox and then created stupid regulations which prevented him from taking basic measures to protect himself.
Let's start to tally the up t
June 27, 2007 - 08:01 ET by midnight cowboyLet's start to tally the up the score of what these enviromental whack jobs are doing to America.
Can't clear brush to impede wildfires. Result, 300 homes wiped out from this fire alone.
Prevent levies in New Orleans to be built to recommeded strength in the 60's beacause they were more concerned about lake Ponchatrain and saving wetlands. Result. Major U.S. city gets wiped out.
Prevents oil drilling off Florida coast, off California coast, the Arctic, as well as prevented the building of new refineries and nuke plants. Result, Larger dependence on foreign energy and spike in gas prices.
Demands use of corn based ethanol. Result, higher corn prices resulting in higher cattle feed prices resulting in higher food prices across the board from dairy to beef to cereal, to soft drinks.
Will someone in a position of authority finally get the cajones and give these America hating creatins the b*tch slap they so need.
Just a few notes on your come
June 27, 2007 - 08:50 ET by danboJust a few notes on your coments. Which I agree with.
The environmentalist prevented the Corps of Engineers from installing flood control locks on the drainage canals in New Orleans. Which would have prevented a good bit of the flooding.
Florida's prevention of drilling. The local paper once had a map of the gulf denied drilling. If that map was correct. Some of that water is south of and closer to Alabama.
Ethanol. Not just more expensive feed etc. Land taken out of food production to grow crops for fuel. Forest cut to grow fuel. Rich countries will absorb the cost. But in poor countries, people will starve. But environmentalist don't care about the poor.
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
danbo, et al -IMO, this is ye
June 27, 2007 - 09:51 ET by drillanwrdanbo, et al -
IMO, this is yet another [thing] the republican run Congress let slip from its control when they were in power. After the last big fires, and after Katrina, when it was shown measures that could have/would have lessened or prevented catastrophies were blocked by enviromentalist groups they should have immediately held Waxman-like hearings and grilled and drilled these groups over the coals. These groups are endangering and costing lives, not to mention billions and billions in losses and damages to the people involved and to insurance companies and government aid agencies. To me, this is criminal interference.
You will never see a dem run congress call any of this into question or accountability. So, lady, you go right ahead and cut that grass and brush on government land to save yourself and your property. You are on your own.
That was my greatest disappoi
June 27, 2007 - 09:59 ET by danboThat was my greatest disappointment with the Republicans. Including Bush. I sent them there to clean out the insanity. Weed out the people who are agenda driven. Take the environmentalist and so many others to task.
They did nothing.
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
Apparently, the liberal/democ
June 27, 2007 - 10:37 ET by drillanwrApparently, the liberal/democrat insanity is contagious.
Yesterday I got yet another call from the RNC for a donation. I had to explain agin how I was NOT going to contribute until the Republican politicians were held accountable for their weak knees, and until the RNC stopped their insanity. Their slipping support for the war. Their support for the shamnisty bill ...
As much as I'm fed up with th
June 27, 2007 - 10:44 ET by danboAs much as I'm fed up with the Republicans. The option is so bad.....
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
We can only hope they reach d
June 27, 2007 - 11:03 ET by drillanwrWe can only hope they reach down between their collective legs and re-discover their b@lls.
Just one nit to pick... Land
June 27, 2007 - 12:08 ET by taznarJust one nit to pick...
Many people seem to be unaware that the US (among other coutries) actually pays farmers to not plant crops.
There is no shortage of food in the world. Just a large population that is unable to pay the actual costs to produce and distribute the food.
But if the world is forced to
June 27, 2007 - 12:23 ET by danboBut if the world is forced to convert? We're talking about a lot of land going into fuel production.
At the end of WWII Germany was reliant on alcohol fuel. Result. People starved.
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
I don't know at what point us
June 27, 2007 - 14:10 ET by taznarI don't know at what point using land to "grow fuel" would result in a food shortfall, but I do know there is a lot of unused land. One well-known secret is that most farmers choose to "set-aside" the least productive land. That land, however may be great for alternative crops that may actually be better for ethanol production. I've also seen places where railway and highway right-of-ways have been used for growing crops (usually hay). I wonder how much ethanol could be made from the grass clippings removed from lawns throughout the US?
If it becomes economically viable (supposedly if oil remains above $70/barrel) there is a lot of potential that can be used without impacting food production.
Problem: It takes more energy
June 27, 2007 - 15:57 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveProblem: It takes more energy to produce ethanol than the end product of ethanol provides.
Another problem: Ethanol production is heavily subsidized by the government...if it was such a great thing, it would not need a subsidy to be successful. Subsidy = someone's pet project...usually because that someone (government/lobby/individual/politician(s)) are receiving kickbacks for it.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." --Thomas Jefferson
Oh, My!
June 27, 2007 - 08:34 ET by OiznopAnd I thought the envrionMENTAList's regulations were for the"common good of the people, the land, and the planet?" Remember, people. These are the same pointy headed marxists that want to regulate your lifestyle through taxation and more nazi rules. Keep the greenie weenies OUT of government!
Oiz
I would postulate that ther
June 27, 2007 - 09:37 ET by AtillaKahunaI would postulate that there is a large correlation between the ranks of the environmentalists who espouse the types of regulations that result in more damaging forest fires, and the anthropogenic global warming proponents (I'm working really really hard here to avoid name-calling).
So let me ask this question: Just how much CO2 and particulate matter is put into the atmosphere by a multi-thousand acre forest fire? How much CO2 to O2 conversion capacity is lost when more than 3,000 acres of forest burn?
I'm just asking here...
Kahuna
i saw some blog within the la
June 27, 2007 - 11:25 ET by PKi saw some blog within the last month that the united states because of its large forested area and its intensive farming that the country is a net user of co2 rather than a producer of said gas.
C
now if the gang took the land out of the soil bank and used it to grow corn for ethanol they could mess up the "O" rings in the carburators of more of the cars in the land than they currently do.
and furthermore.the grand idi
June 27, 2007 - 11:32 ET by PKand furthermore.
the grand idiocy of california many years ago forced a change to "winter diesel fuel".
truck sized diesel engines use the fuel as a lubricant in the injector pumps. the "winter diesel" had different lubrication qualities. thousands of truckers had to have their injectors and injector pumps rebuilt because of this at a cost of ~$4000. this was usually announced by the truck very quietly rolling to a stop out in the boondocks.
it was a pain because the big rig tow trucks had to fix their engines first.
after a couple of months of very bad feelings it was all over with with many diesel mechanics driving new pickup trucks and some trucking lines embargoing california.
C
I saw that too. Could it have
June 27, 2007 - 12:12 ET by taznarI saw that too. Could it have been NewsBusters where we saw that?
PK, I provided two such links
June 28, 2007 - 01:37 ET by MikeBPK, I provided two such links in the June 7 thread on "15-year-old Byrnes outsmarts NASA's global warming alarmist James Hansen". The U.S. is a net carbon sink.
"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan
Logic, reason, and common sen
June 27, 2007 - 09:39 ET by drillanwrLogic, reason, and common sense mean NOTHING to these enviro-fascists. They DO NOT believe in true forest conservation ... that means thinning over-grown areas - especially of old and diseased trees, clearing old fuels from the forest floor, allowing access roads to be built for emergency vehicles during fires ...
I actually heard, a few years ago during one of the biggest forest fires out in Yellow Stone (I think), Robert Kennedy, Jr. flattly dispute that these common sense practices help prevent or lessen the magnitude and spreading of forest fires. He insisted the forests should NOT be managed ... Yet, he's one of the first bloviators out there blaming GW and GWBush when huge fires like this happen.
As far as I'm concerned, Robert Kennedy, Jr. lost ALL (not even credibility) but easy-because-my name-is-Kennedy access to the media and be taken even seriously when he opens that dry mouth of his when he blamed Hurricane Katrina on George Bush ...
All the wildfires in the late
June 27, 2007 - 10:28 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveAll the wildfires in the late 90's were caused by the same types of regulations. There was so much tinder and dead underbrush that hadn't been cleared away for years just waiting to ignite. The law of unintended consequences strikes again, unless of course, that was the goal the tree huggers had in mind...to allow wildfires to rage out of control to wipe out human development.
Why don't the environmentalists worry about their own land? --Oh, that's right they don't own their own land, that's why they try to control everyone else's.
Environmentalists suck. Up in Washington when I was a kid, a National Forest Service Ranger showed us Boy Scouts where environmentalists had driven large (like 3-4 ft) spikes into trees at a sharp angle so if loggers cut down the tree, the spike would break the chain and maybe injure or even kill the logger(s). I have no patience for these saboteurs.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." --Thomas Jefferson
the environmentalists mow the
June 27, 2007 - 11:17 ET by PKthe environmentalists mow their lawns don't they?
forests are like lawns only longer term.
i worked for the forest service as a laborer in the early sixties. one summer, every day for a month i planted about 600 trees a day. we figured a sixty year growing cycle. that means that the trees that they planted to replace the ones logged off in 1960 are going to be lumber in another ten years or so. that program had been in place for twenty years at that time.
by the way the same type of fire happened in yellowstone park many years ago. they lost a lot of "cabins" and as i remember a couple of small towns because of it.
C
about the big nails in the tr
June 27, 2007 - 11:46 ET by PKabout the big nails in the trees.
the tree huggers had help in that business.
at the turn of the last century the forest service erected lookout towers in the forests to watch for fires.
at first they used signal flags but then strung telephone lines throught the forest.
they would drive a bridge spike (really big nail) into a large tree and wrap the telephone wire around it and then off to the next tree.
in the early fifties they changed over to radios.
a salvage company salvaged out the wire but by that time the trees had grown around the nail and wire so they simply cut the wire where it entered and eft the tree.
time marches on.
they sold the trees in a tree sale and when the logs got to the sawmills they really ripped up the saws.
C
Because I know the MSM's hidd
June 27, 2007 - 12:23 ET by drillanwrBecause I know the MSM's hidden agenda in covering these fires is to scare us about GW, here is a story running on Drudge right now:
Johannesburg Gets 4 Inches of Snow, First Since 1981 (Update1) By Stewart Bailey
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&refer=india&sid=awNaI9yDGOnc
Now, what the report fails to inform the reader is that this area of South Africa is in the Earth's Southern Hemisphere ... and that the Southern and Northern Hemispheres are at opposite seasons.
Okay, it's what? ... Summer in the Northern Hemi right now ... soooo, it's what? Uh huh, WINTER in the Southern Hemi right now. Snow happens ...
I knew something like this
June 27, 2007 - 13:16 ET by TjexciteWhen I saw how close the trees where to the homes I knew something was wrong with this and with that much underbrush you don't fight fire with fire. You clear the dead stuff out then no more fire. All it would take is a 100' barrier and the house should be save.
Tj....Me too...A home-owner t
June 27, 2007 - 13:25 ET by bigtimerTj....
Me too...
A home-owner that had his house make it said the law there in S.Tahoe only allowed them to remove trees on their own property mind you....30 ft. and no more from their structures....
He went against them and did fifty feet....his home was the only one around that was saved that I saw that they showed...he also said that the law was made within the distance of how far you could clear from your homes because of so-called soil erosion....cute huh?
....common sense is something we cannot use in this country anymore....
I wonder if that guy is going to be turned on and be fined now for daring to go on television and tell just the facts....which is called the truth.
I would sue the people who made this law.....or however it could be legally done.
I know for a fact there are places all over this country that have destructive laws like this.
Reality changes everything
June 27, 2007 - 17:39 ET by w0tmIn 1995 I built a second home in a heavily wooded mountain area just west of Vail, Colorado. I ignored the environmentalist rules run amock. I was going to have a fire-resistant home. I added 20% to the estimated cost of my home for lawyers and all the penalties I would pay. I cleared brush 75 feet from my home (the laws said nothing could be disturbed right up to the structure. I also had a steel roof and other fire-proof building materials that did not meet their regulations. The day came for the county and the homeowner's association to "sign off" on my home. I assumed they'd hit me with a court order so I had my lawyer there. But the "Malibu fires" were raging right then. They saw all I did and said "why didn't you clear even more?". I had guys with chain saws there the next day. My second home is now used as the model for a fire safe home in a wooded area in Eagle county, Colorado (where Vail is). But they STILL haven't changed a single rule or law. The tree huggers won't let them. But the builders just ignore the rules and laws and use my home as the model. Let the tree huggers have their laws. As long as no one follows them, no harm is done. Unfortunately, the home owners in South Tahoe never had a trouble maker like me come along to challenge authority with common sense. The tree huggers have done, and are doing, far more damage to the environment than the rest of us put together.
Two years before I built my home, my neighbor hauled off eleven truckloads of (fire danger) underbrush while building his home. He was immediately hit with a $10,000 fine by the homeowner's association. Rather than pay the fine, he had all eleven truckloads hauled back to his land and spread around. He just received a notice from the home owner's telling him to remove the underbrush from his land as it is a fire hazzard. You can't print what his answer was.