Doug and Still, you're right about the unfeasibility of asking people not to ask firefighters to save their homes from forest fires. It's the same argument that undelies seat belt and helmet laws --which I think sometimes are overdrawn. The decision there has generally been that, since no one is going to withold emergency medical care to a driver or cyclist who was injured because of not wearing a belt or helmet, the law will require motorcyclists and car passengers to wear them.

This is one of the best arguments I can think of for roadless, undeveloped areas. Those will be the only places where even small fires CAN be allowed to follow their natural course.

Genie