Why not a firefighting fleet?

I have no argument with the measures what is proposed by Sam Joseph, Julie Oliver, and Bob Lutz in “Take steps to protect yourself from wildfire smoke,” (July 14), but, being 75, I chose to take it a step further and began to several months ago.

Back then, I wrote to the president of the United States, the governors of several western states and officials of two Canadian provinces, in addition to the mayor of Spokane, several City Council members, and media outlets, in order to claim that only lack of political will and economic commitment prevent our nation’s ability either to prevent, or substantially knock back so much unhealthy smoke from the wildfires.

Though the idea occurred to me independently, I happened on a website to a California corporation that proposed to modify hundreds of large ramp drop military transport aircraft to dump water and retardant on the wildfires. Presently, only 28 large civilian aircraft are configured to do so, nationwide, including a 747. I don’t know why the corporation never got around to doing so, but if it is worth doing with 28 large civilian aircraft, I believe it must be much better with more and, in addition to the large number of active military aircraft, with such potential, there are thousands more in storage at Davis Monthan Air Force Base, in Arizona.

So far, only a few officials have responded to my idea, and favorably, too. But they lack the horsepower to make my suggestion happen. So it is up to those who do to decide if many millions of their fellow citizens really need to inhale so much unhealthy smoke.

As for myself, I believe that, if there is any technical reason why my suggestion would not work, somebody senior would have told me so, and why it would not, a long time ago.

In any case, all that I have proposed is only a suggestion. In others’ hands lie the power to ameliorate this plague that has descended upon us over the past several years, if they are minded to do so.

Philip J. Mulligan

Spokane