Bureaucrats Fiddle While California Burns

After just one day of fighting wildfires in California, a DC-10 Supertanker chartered by the state of California has again been grounded, even as the fires close in on small residential communities where residents have been forced to evacuate. Lockwood Valley, one of the areas at risk, is under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The state says it won’t fly the plane over land that is not within its jurisdiction. "That’s a federal fire; that’s not our fire," said a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry. THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS Grounded Firefighting Plane Finally Takes Off Red Tape Fuels Raging Wildfire Click Here for More of the Brian Ross Page But the U.S. Forest Service claims it’s not their responsibility. "If there are homes threatened, that’s up to the CDF [California Department of Forestry]," said Rose Davis, spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service. While the state and federal agencies engage in a war of words, the fires roar. The state has been divided into federal, state and local jurisdictions, and residents are outraged  that the arbitrary distinctions prevent them from getting protection. "Those flames are a mile from the homes. We need to get that DC-10 up in the air immediately," said Mindy Masters, who lives 50 miles from Lockwood Valley.    The California Department of Forestry used the DC-10 to drop over 40,000 gallons of fire retardant on state land on Sunday but says it won’t use the plane over federal land. The Supertanker costs over $26,000 an hour to lease and is on a "call when needed" contract with CDF. Since no call has been made, residents are packing their bags. "The fireline broke. The moon is red out here, and it’s almost like night, the sky is so smokey," Janice Dellah, a frightened Lockwood Valley resident who evacuated her home on Tueday evening, said.