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Show 80 Service officials are s t i l l opposed to let-burn decisions. Karen Eckels says, " I t ' s not so much that I t e l l people, 'Fire management Is changing now, and we no longer put out a l l f i r e s . ' What I do say to forest managers i s , 'You have a professional responsibility to be as well informed as you can vihen you're deciding vihether to l e t a fire burn or suppress i t . ' That's the kind of service Firebase performs, providing information vihich is the basis of those decisions." People-caused fires are another matter entirely. They are not a part of the cycle of nature, instead they disrupt the natural cycle. And they cause the most damage because they s t a r t in areas vihich people use most, rather than in remote wilderness vihere burning has less effect on land use. The changing fire policy does not mean that people can be careless with f i r e , any more than they viere a dozen years ago. Smokey Bear s t i l l urges all of us, "Please continue to be careful with f i r e ." |