An Associated Press story reported that the federal government had not followed through on its previously announced plans to burn flammable brush in an area near LA where wildfires now burn. The U.S. Forest Service explained its failure to carry out the planned burn on wind, weather, and environmental rules. One LA County Supervisor went further and blamed environmental groups that “have gone to the extreme to prevent controlled burns.”
Two days later, the local media was awash in a news story that the LA County Sheriff’s office had conducted an investigation and determined that the wildfires were the product of arson. Whether this is a fact or an effort to deflect criticism away from the federal government’s failures remains a question.
