Preventable Fires?

"I started to think - if we can detect small missiles being launched from our satellite systems, why can't we detect forest fires when they first start?"

By now, we have all heard about the destructive and deadly fire which hit Maui. It was bad, really bad. On another note, yesterday was supposed to be a very bad smoke event in Minnesota. Fortunately, the winds continued to blow, so the bad smoke day was not so bad after all. Then I started to think - what do the Maui fire and the Canadian fires have in common, if anything.

I was watching some military show on the YouTube channel on our ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) system. Right now, our satellite system is so sophisticated, we cannot not only detect an ICBM missile taking off anywhere on the planet, but we can also detect smaller missiles being launched. I started to think - if we can detect small missiles being launched from our satellite systems, why can't we detect forest fires when they first start? 

Listening to the news, the forensic analysis of the Maui fire has already started. It was not Hawaii's finest hour. Many things were done or with left undone, which led to this catastrophic event. In fact, the civil defense coordinator told the press, he intentionally did not sound the civil defense alarm, as most islanders would have thought it was a tsunami coming and headed for the hills - right into the fire. However, the civil defense sirens did sound when they thought an ICBM has headed their way. Huh?

As soon as they detected the smallest fire starting up in the hills of Maui, that is when the emergency responders should have started to act. Not only with an orderly evac, but also getting the proper firefighting assets involved. When the unexpected wind from the hurricane developed, and the fire became a fast-moving inferno, that is when Hawaii really fell down on the job. Getting people moved out of harm's way was way too late. Having way too much fuel laying on the ground in Maui, is the same problem that Canada had this year. Once a fire starts, and dry fuel is present, the fire can spread quickly.

What is the bottom line? Our firefighting needs a facelift. It is stuck in the past and needs to plan for the future. For all our climate alarmists, having all that carbon being released into the air from massive forest fires should be unthinkable. For people in the lower 48 states who get to breathe this unhealthy air from Canada, it is unfathomable. For those in Maui who lost everything and maybe everyone to their deadly fire, it is unimaginable.