Spreading Like Wildfire

The Bush administration and governors from Western states agreed yesterday to the outlines of a 10-year plan to reduce the risk of wildfire, but postponed until next spring discussion on how the plan would be implemented. In the past, fire authorities focused on suppressing fires that had already begun. The new plan focuses on better collaboration among federal, state, and local governments in preventing major fires from starting in the first place by thinning underbrush and minimizing risks to private property. Enviros are concerned that the timber industry will try to use the plan to boost logging levels on federal lands.