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Oregon Territory

January 20, 2006 — Fire in the West

part one part two

download links: part one | part two

Every summer and fall, Oregon and other Western states brace for fire season, hoping this is not the year that devastates forests and costs firefighters’ lives.

Thanks to generations of proselytizing by Smokey the Bear, most Westerners know that suppressing forest fires was official U. S. policy for at least a century. That policy began to shift several decades ago — but actually enforcing the “let it burn” policy turned out to be almost impossible politically.

Starting with the 1988 Yellowstone fires, journalist Rocky Barker began covering shifting firefighting policy, and along the way he discovered a fascinating history that dates back to the creation of Yellowstone National Park, shortly after the Civil War.

Join us as we explore the history and policy of fighting forest fires.

Host: Christy George

Guests: Rocky Barker, staff reporter for the Idaho Statesman and contributing writer to High Country News. He is the author of “Scorched Earth: How the Fires of Yellowstone Changed America”

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