http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/western-wildfires/california-wildfires-heat-drought-hamper-fight-save-homes-n205681

The California wildfires are generating quite a bit of news.  They may not deserve it.

8 years ago I hiked 500 miles from the California-Oregon border down to Las Vegas.  I hiked through endless miles of forest, all of it with dead underbrush, fallen limbs and other material on the ground.  The ENTIRE way was like walking through a well laid fire.

I tried to look for clearings to which I could head if I suspected a fire.  I looked for creeks and rivers, though in a fire there would be no oxygen available.  I hoped to hell that if a fire broke out the appropriate authorities would come along on horses to evacuate hikers.

I met a guy with a big tepee, muzzle loading rifle, and various other authentic stuff who was at a lake to which I had to hike to get water after 4 “permanent” sources on the trail were dried up.  He and his son were out there on an annual trek.  He retired early from his job which involved training convicts to fight fires, and then managing them when a fire broke out.

He said the situation scared him to death.  That the forests were ready to go and when they did it would be hell, and people were going to die.  That doesn’t seem to have happened yet, but I can assure you that it is a serious matter.

Those forests should be allowed to burn every once in a while.  If they do, just the underbrush burns, and the trees survive.  With these big fires the crowns go, and the tree is killed.

I would not like to be out there now, especially in a drought.  I couldn’t expect anyone to understand unless they saw it.  It was that bad, eight years ago.