FIRES: Fernan no place for them

This letter is in response to Mr. Anthony Goltz and Mr. Zane Leitau, whose letter to the editor regarding having recreational fires on the shores of Lake Fernan was published in Sunday’s edition of the Coeur d’Alene Press. First I would like to commend these two gentlemen for taking time to write their letter and taking an active part in their community.

I would like to speak to the issue of fires on the shores of Lake Fernan. I do not know where precisely these young men started their fire. However, I would like to point out that any fire on the shores of Lake Fernan endangers the hillsides along the lake. These hillsides have been classified by the city of Coeur d’Alene fire department as being an “extreme fire danger.” This is the most severe fire designation possible. Some of these areas have extreme slopes in excess of 30 percent with a very heavy accumulation of fuel in the form of naturally dried vegetation.

At the tops of these extreme slopes are communities of hundreds of people. Fires move uphill, and this is of great concern to the people living in these areas.

Of course no one simply attempting to have a recreational fire would like to start a wildland fire that would burn hundreds of acres. However, the fact remains that even after the most careful due diligence, an ember could remain that would slowly but surely lead to a devastating fire, destroying acres of forest, wildlife habitat, homes and perhaps human life. The fun fishing just wouldn’t be the same on the shores of Lake Fernan if the forest land people currently enjoy so much were blackened and devastated.

So these laws that are seemingly so annoying, that appear to “take away… good times with my family and friends” are there to serve an important purpose. They protect forest land, animal habitat, neighborhoods and human life. They preserve the lands for all of us to enjoy, and preserve the safety of our families and community and I, for one, am grateful each and every time the police do their duty by enforcing these laws.

REBECCA KLAEUI

Coeur d’Alene