Fires

Firefighters do not run into a blaze like you see on TV. We crawl with purpose like rats in a maze, which is what a well-involved structure fire feels like, the smoke so thick our high-powered flashlights can’t cut through it. We are trained to locate windows and leave furniture in place as reference points while we conduct search and rescue then scurry to the nearest walls. It makes it all the more vital to have another firefighter with you. The fire was consuming a construction site on Yale’s campus. “The security guard’s inside.” The water company hadn’t arrived yet. No matter, we were going in. I ordered the firefighter to grab the forcible entry saw. He didn’t know where it was. Precious seconds gone.

At tragic moments, like the deadly fires in Hawaii, our nation expects the president to speak to all of us and for all of us. The task is not a political one. He is not being asked to speak as the head of a political party or even the head of government. Those moments will come later. During a national tragedy, he needs to speak for the whole nation as its “head of state.”  President Roosevelt famously did that on December 8, 1941, referring to the bombing of Pearl Harbor previous day as a “date which will live in infamy” President Reagan did it after the Challenger disaster, a brilliant and touching memorial to the astronauts who died.

Let them eat pineapple? President Joe Biden, who was approached by reporters while leaving the beach on Sunday, declined to comment on the deadly Maui wildfires that have thus far claimed ninety-six American lives. "No comment," Biden told the press as he trudged back over the sand dunes after a few hours catching some rays. Cockburn is shocked he didn't check his watch before bothering to offer those two words. The president's reaction has prompted disdain — even from apparent allies. “Not a great moment for Biden here,” tweeted former CNN political editor and current Substacker Chris Cillizza. Biden’s indifference to the death and utter destruction caused by the fires is quite perplexing, given his only job is beach.

I believe it was John Fremont who once exclaimed in astonishment that one could ride a horse at full gallop in the Forests of the Sierras in California. Well, one can do that again now — not among the towering conifers, but over the ashes.Right now I'm seeing the mountains I grew up in — where I went to school, where I hung out, camped, backpacked, boated, cheated death and generally formed the foundation of my character — burning down. It makes me sad and angry.  This didn't have to happen. Once upon a time, forests in California were logged, grazed, and competently managed. It wasn't always perfect, but generally it worked.Fires, which are a natural part of that ecosystem, were generally small — not just benign but beneficial.