In this opinion piece, Dana Tibbitts argues that current U.S. Forest Service fire policy places too much emphasis on “managed fire” and not enough on rapid suppression. Drawing on criticism from fire chiefs, foresters, and wildfire professionals, the article contends that delayed initial attack can worsen damage to forests, wildlife, communities, and private property across the West.

Dana Tibbitts, Tahoe Forest Products LLC was registered in Nevada just weeks before the Caldor Fire charred 222,000 acres — conveniently creating a massive supply of salvage timber selling for pennies on the dollar. What followed was a web of interlocking investors, USFS wood grants, and bi-state planning agency partnerships operating under the banner of "forest resilience." What's happening in Tahoe isn't unique. The Fire/Stewardship MOU has been federalized, and 50 million acres of USFS land are slated for "treatment." Which community is next?

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Fire turned from a small brushfire near Grizzly Flats into a catastrophic inferno, fueled by Forest Service inaction, outdated tactics, and unaddressed fuel loads.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.