The fire which burned out of control from Bandelier National Monument and destroyed 260 homes near and in Los Alamos, New Mexico is a story of virtue leading to monstrous vice. A conjunction of ecological and economic understanding explains the tragic connections among humans, nature, and wildfires. With a thin snow pack, low soil moisture, and below-average precipitation, firefighters should have a busy summer. These pyro mercenaries, smart fun-hogs, love their work. "Jumping out of perfectly good airplanes into a fire is the most fun I've ever had standing up" said one smoke jumper buddy of ours. Our favorite firefighter quote is: "The Forest Service puts out fires by throwing money on them until it rains, and then the rain puts the fire out."

Since "fire pay" can earn the elite smoke jumpers, and even some ground thumpers, as much as $30,000 during a four month stint, firefighters root for "big" fire seasons. Congress has traditionally given federal agencies carte blanch to fight fire--with predictable consequences. Offices in fire prone regions count on busy fire seasons to generate funds for day to day operations.

With timber and road building budgets eroding, fire suppression has become the Forest Service's cash cow. The Forest Service alone has $618 million for fires in 2000. Also, for this year alone Congress is proposing to divide $350 million in emergency fire fighting funds between the Department of Interior and the Forest Service. The Forest Service's bureaucratic hierarchy at the regional and supervisors' level sop up most of its budget. The ranger districts, who are the national forest units responsible for action, complain that the agency's budget shrinks to a mere drip as it runs from Washington to the regional offices, the forest supervisors offices, and at last to the ranger districts. However, nearly all of the emergency fire budget is spent on the ground.

Smokey the Bear's "Only you can prevent forest fires" mantra has been a very successful public relations campaign. However well intended, the program was ignorant of fire ecology. The mere possibility that fire has an important positive role in maintaining healthy forests was anathema to and censored by Forest Service leaders. It was only after the conversion of surplus war bombers (B17's and 24's) that fire fighters attacked remote areas-no longer constrained by roads of mule trains. For decades its official policy toward newly ignited fires was "out by 10 a.m. the next day". By an amazing coincidence, the policy ended when Congress repealed the emergency fire suppression fund in the mid-1980s.

Some of the most significant damage by the agency's efforts are in Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon and Washington State. Historically, these forests of fire-resistant ponderosa pine were swept by slow, creeping fires which cleared out weaker, less fire-resistant foliage, creating an open "park-like" appearance. But over the last century huge, thick-barked pines were cut and fire virtually eliminated, leaving stands of dense fir trees.

These dense landscapes are highly vulnerable to insects and disease. With excess dry, dead foliage acting as kindling, fire becomes a perpetual hazard. Here are the likely results.

First, western politicians will blame enviros for restricting logging. Then, myopic GOP congressmen and women will call for increased logging to reduce fire risk. Enviros are eager to hop on the fire engine seeking funds for "ecosystem restoration. Concurrently, the FS will demand increased funds for logging to prevent fires, and ultimately budgetary incentives lead to exploiting fear to justify logging every where.

This is the time for radically re-thinking fire fighting in the national forests. The problems bequeathed by 100+ years of poor forest management have no easy, low cost solution. Huge, out-of-control fires are inevitable and will continue until the fuel loads are reduced. Fire suppression should focus on protecting valuable multiple-use resources, on human life, and private property.

One of greatest dangers of the coming fires are policies which benefit the agencies' budgets but compound long term economic and ecological problems. Critics of the agency have long deplored the "corporate subsides" of federal timber sale program. But what's really being subsidized is the Forest Service's budget. Bureaucracies have disincentives to reduce costs and fire is the agency's largest budget item.

In the fire arena it's time to consider replacing Smokey's minions with private contractors. Agency morale has plummeted and pay stagnated. The Forest Service is hard pressed to staff fire crews with experienced members. In response, a private industry of wildlands firefighting has emerged. The Wildfire Contractors Association and the Ash Kickers provides crews ready to go. Cache Plus and the National Fire fighter Corporation supply gear from hoses to trucks. Ecological and economic forces have provided an excellent seed bed for environmental entrepreneurs.