One would assume that after more than 100 years of practice, a federal agency would be able to do its job correctly.  However, that is not the case with the U.S. Forest Service.  At least in New Mexico, it has been unable to consistently prevent its prescribed burns from escaping and becoming raging wildfires.
New Mexico is a nearly ideal location for wildfires.  It is high and dry to begin with and is in the midst of a mega-drought, making it even drier than usual.  Additionally, the Forest Service’s fire suppression model for nearly a century has been to try to extinguish almost all fires instead of permitting frequent low-intensity burns â which were the historic norm.  Even when the Forest Service has attempted to thin forests by mechanical means, it has often faced intense opposition from various environmental groups impairing its ability to do so…
