If you want to talk about greed, as related to wildfires, fire departments getting between 600 and 1200 dollars perhour for trucks sitting in the parking lot or driving around on a tour.
I don't believe it's about liability. I do believe it's about empire building and turf.
I am also a firm believer in, if you see something, you take care of it. Three times, in my lifetime, I have been among the first to respond to wildfires (One lightning strike and two human caused) and, in all three cases, we had the fires contained, if not out, by the time the ministry responded.
As far as making a place "firesmart" is concerned, in many cases, the timber is on adjacent crown land and the homeowners are not allowed to cut it. In my case, any timber close to the house is on my land and I deal with it. If threatened by wildfire, I have a plan and will freely admit that it won't be totally legal.
Happily, we got a BUNCH of rain over the last couple of days so things are looking a little better for now. GD
