If you want to save California from big wildfires, let it burn

摘要

Arnold schwarzenegger injects Hollywood glamour wherever he goes. When California's governor inspected the 2000 square kilometres charred in last week's wildfires, he looked every bit the movie hero. The script worked out well, too. Arnie won praise for mobilising rescue workers quickly and even the wind turned in his favour, dying down in time for firefighters to limit the damage.rnYet there is an alternative plot line that Schwarzenegger would not be pleased with. It's the story being told by wildfire experts. In this version, state and federal policies are partly to blame for thefires, and the moral of the tale is that policies must change if the million people orderedrnto evacuate last week are to be spared a repeat performance. There is accumulating evidence that rather than suppressing fire, we should allow it to return to the role it used to play in Californian ecosystems.