re: #313 Killgore Trout

The wildfires out west are getting some places to reconsider their firearms policies - in Utah alone, at least 20 of the wildfires were due to firearms discharges.

Recreational shooting is being blamed for at least 20 fires this year in the state. It’s an activity long enjoyed and fervently protected by enthusiasts — but firing a gun near the high and dry grass of Utah is sparking flames and igniting controversy throughout the state.

“This is gonna be really (requiring) everybody working together,” says Gov. Gary R. Herbert, a Republican. On Monday, Herbert empowered the state’s top forests official to restrict firearms near cities and towns where fire danger is extreme.

“Our biggest problem is people being foolish and not using common sense,” Herbert lamented.

A recent fire outside Salt Lake City erupted when a recreational target practice led to flames that engulfed an area near a dump. Nine thousand people were temporarily forced from their homes and more than 6,000 acres were charred before the fire was contained.

Gun advocacy groups say banning weapons is a step too far.

Really? Too far? How many homes and businesses have to be destroyed for an outdoors firearms discharge ban to be absolutely necessary? It’s a massive lack of common sense on the part of those firing off those firearms; start a fire and watch it drain state and local resources and put lives at risk - see how yet another air tanker crashed just a few days ago fighting fires in SD that grounded a fleet of C-130 tankers.

Common sense indeed. There are open fire bans during red flag weather - that should extend to recreational firearms discharges for the same reason.