Dana Tibbitts of the National Wildfire Alliance urges a reset of U.S. wildfire policy, calling for aggressive suppression, science‑based fuel reduction, and protection of communities and forests.

In Part Two of “License to Burn,” Dana Tibbitts traces how the 2021 Caldor Fire turned from a small brushfire near Grizzly Flats into a catastrophic inferno, fueled by Forest Service inaction, outdated tactics, and unaddressed fuel loads. Drawing on resident testimony, media investigations, and the aftermath along Highway 50 and Lake Tahoe, she raises hard questions about whether wildfire mismanagement and salvage logging have become an “ultimate public‑private partnership.

Dana Tibbitts examines wildfire policy and shared stewardship agreements, questioning public-private partnerships, managed fire strategies, and decision-making influences shaping wildfire management and outcomes in California’s Tahoe Basin and surrounding regions.