Fireproofing the Forests

WILLIAM CAMPBELL FOR TIME
In Arizona, a weary fire fighter walks away from a blaze he just set

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No one questions the value of thinning for fire control around houses and other structures. What is much harder to weigh is the balance of risks and benefits of thinning that has ecological goals. Also troubling is the fact that thinning has come to the fore at a time when neither the White House nor Congress seems inclined to take environmental protection seriously. Indeed, unless great care is exercised, thinning could degenerate into a form of irresponsible surgery that injures the very forests it is supposed to heal.