I am writing in response to Dr. Brian Moench’s guest editorial, “Mutilating Parley’s Canyon, the climate and our future” (June 12).
The doctor’s doomsday comments were thought provoking, interesting and a lot to unpack; but like much information these days, his article is misleading. Words like “hideous,” “obscene,” “butchered” and “mini-superfund” were used to invoke fear and prey on the uninformed yet well-intentioned citizen. The article argues in absolute terms: if fuel modification work is done, then x and y will occur. There are far too many factors involved in fire behavior predictions to draw just one unequivocal conclusion.
After spending over three decades observing, suppressing and managing fires, I can say for sure that when it comes to wildfire, nothing is certain.
The article mentions “apocalyptic level of air pollution” courtesy of the spontaneous unnatural number of Canadian fires. However, it fails to mention that the largest of these fires are burning in unmanaged, dense and unlogged remote wilderness, devouring thousands of acres everyday with no end in sight; and they are not burning through shaded fuel breaks designed to protect neighborhoods.
I respectfully disagree with the notion that selectively removing available fire fuel, and surgically modifying its continuity and arrangement, will result in more severe and devastating fire behavior. The projects that are taking place in and around Summit County are designed to protect life and property and not to prevent Greta Thunberg’s “science based” prediction that we only have seven years left.
I like to look at it this way: We can have a little smoke now or a lot of smoke later.
Residents of our Wildland Urban Interface communities who are balanced, sober and are invested in living here are greatly appreciative of the work being done and the experts involved.
Mike Quinones
Summit Park
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