Before & After

The USFS loses control of about 7 prescribed burns each year. They acknowledge a total of 43 having escaped control to date of this blog post. As with all things government, I suspect these numbers are deliberate undercounts. Regardless, it's a pretty good record even if the numbers are a little higher. Still, it burns when they let it happen due to gross incompetence and criminal negligence, as was reported to be the two cases which caused the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fires to rip and roar across the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains during spring and summer of 2022. Success rates mean nothing after such losses.

Before that conflagration, hours, days, and a couple of times, weeks were spent roaming along the rim of Gascon Point gazing out over the forestland surrounding my homestead situated in a beautiful little valley below. I dreamed of wanting nothing more than lots of time to live there and enjoy it each day and night, in every season, and in all sorts of weather.

Now, it's all too obvious that the bungling nitwits at the USFS have robbed victims of every bit of that time. The decimated forestland spanning at least 534 square miles will not recover within remaining years of life for any victim still living today to grieve over their loss. Some have died waiting in vain for the monstrosity known as FEMA to compensate them, as promised by the POTUS, and by Congress. But, hey, they never keep any of their promises. What they do consistently excel at is to stall and hem and haw and overwhelm citizens deserving to be made whole again with bureaucratic folderol so that they can suck up funds.

The sight of it all sickens me to the point of never caring about living there again, even if that was possible. Now, tests of samples from water wells in pretty little valleys like mine are revealing toxic levels of contaminants in groundwater sources, very likely from fire retardants dumped in massive amounts as they pretended to be so busy fighting a fire they knew all too well they could not contain during one of the driest, windiest spring seasons on record.

So what of any positive quality can be learned from this by victims? I know what I have learned from it all. The U.S. Government is out to take me down and destroy me at all cost, and that I can only do one of two things: 1) leave this country and let it rot in its own putridity, or 2) prepare as best I can to survive the next attack dealt by my own government.

Other countries in the world are dangling some pretty tasty carrots in attempts to convince me life will be better in their lands, under their governmental controls. I'm doubtful, though. So I've chosen option 2, confident that with enough preparation and situational awareness I can satisfactorily live here no matter what shit my nation's government wildly slings my way.

The expanse of destruction caused by incompetence and negligence of USFS staff is difficult to grasp, relative to any single victim's loss. My loss is about 0.009 % of the total 534 square miles of scorched land loss. Nothing in the greater scheme of things, everything in my own.

But with the new parcel secured and initial steps taken to rebuild, this process of recovery is engaging and physically demanding enough to keep me healthy and happy for what I hope will be at least two more decades, and possibly a third. I just need to remember to stay alert and ready for the next attack I expect is coming before I die. After I pass, it just won't matter.