Poor decisions made early with wildfire

To the editor:

I support and commend all of the risk-taking firefighters on the fire line in Kyle Canyon. But there is no way I can cheer, “Job well done,” because it’s a job that never should’ve happened. It was the result of a negligent, terrible decision on July 1, by whomever the officials in charge were, to let the lightning-strike fire in Trout Canyon continue to burn.

I live in Pahrump, and on July 2 at about 1 p.m., from my yard, I saw a small column of smoke rise over Trout Canyon. Reports now say that this had been burning since the previous day. By 6 p.m. on July 2, that small column of smoke had turned into a raging inferno with a huge mushroom cloud in the sky. Totally out of control.

I criticize the officials who decided that a burning lightning-strike fire on a west-rising slope during some of the driest, extreme fire conditions in years should be allowed to burn itself out. Additional idiot points are given for the fact that the general prevailing winds, predicted to increase during the week, probably would push any fire toward the Kyle Canyon jewel of the Spring Mountains National Recreational Area, where thousands of Las Vegans go to hike and camp, and many people have homes.

Yes, I support the people on the ground fighting this did-not-need-to-happen, now-Level One-fire incident. However, the right decision is to summarily fire those who made the July 1 decision, for gross negligence in the execution of their supposed professional field of competence. Let it burn? Not when hundreds of homes and a pristine recreation area are immediately downwind. Will any of these morons be fired? Of course not. Government employees never get fired.

FRED DEXTER

PAHRUMP