Utah Govenor blame fires on gun owners

[TheTman]

The Govenor of Utah says that too many widfires are caused by gun owners, or more specifically gun shooters according to The Christian Science Monitor.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2012/0623/Too-many-wildfires-caused-by-gun-owners-says-Utah-governor

If this is true, I guess shooters in the dry parts of the country need to be aware of the dry situations, and be sure to quickly stamp out any fires they may cause.
I'm not sure I buy all what was said, but they are trying to dump the blame on us as a community.

[jocko]

screw the utah governor. Just sayin. Some people are good at showing their ass without pulling their pants down.

[Longitude Zero]

I am not saying it cannot happen but it is something I have not heard of. The Gov is a moron.

[TheTman]

What bothers me is he cites no evidence to support his claims, just says shooting is the cause. Probably was asked to do that by certain parties that don't want hunting or shooting allowed on public lands. I would think most shooters, if they saw they started a fire would stomp it out, unless it got away from them. The Govener's saying something like 20 out of 24 fires were caused by shooters. I'm not buying it.

[Snidely Whiplash]

In Texas we are usually in a drought, so things stay pretty darn dry. (The occasional flood serves to mark the end of the previous drought and the beginning of the next one.)

I'm a native Texan who has lived about 80% of my life in Texas and I've never heard of gunshots starting a fire. I'm not saying it can't happen, but so far as I know, it never has here.

Most wildfires appear to be started by some jackass flicking a burning cigarette out of a car window.

[jocko]

well #1 he is a politiciian so u know they don't have to have facts to back up their bull sh!t. #2 Most politicians will say damn near anything to make the news and then the retraction is on page 6 of a 5 page newspaper. Other than that he is just a normal stupid fokking moron govoner. I have no ill feelings towards him. just sayin

[Alfonse]

We had a fire at our range last year caused by shooting at a metal target that sparked a fire. I think it burned 600 acres or so.

During the dry season, which is now, the range is only open when a safety officer is present and the longer range targets are not in use.

Yes, it can happen. Tracer bullets can really ignite things.

Not saying the Utah Governor is making sense, but fires can be sparked by shooting.

[jocko]

well I think we all know that it is apossability to. most here are funnin the fokking gov, for such a baseless comment. I bet cigs start more fires today than all other things added. Just sayin.

Catalitic conveters will start fires very easy to.

I hear lightning bugs are a real fire hazard:behindsofa: thats why I never kill piss ants during the dry season, they are natures best fire fighters but they never get any credit for it.:D

[forestranger]

In almost 40 years of dealing with forest fires, I can't remember a one started by gunfire other than one I almost started shooting 308 tracers that I didn't know were tracers:o??? Course I am gettin old and may just not remember:(.

[clever alias]

I think we need a three day waiting period for people wanting to buy matches.

[Alfonse]

Lots of fires are started here mowing too. A brush hog hitting a rock can start a fire. If conditions are right, they can get away in a hurry.

But, thunderstorms and campfires are the most typical causes of fires, except for maybe 4th of July week.

[MikeyKahr]

The soon to be former governor of Utah, actually.

[JFootin]

Some liberals are getting more insane day by day. Nancy Pelosi is saying that bringing contempt charges against Eric Holder are really a secret and highly funded attempt to suppress votes! ... Huh? :001_huh:

[TheTman]

Nancy Pelosi hasn't said anything intelligent, since......., well has she EVER said anything intelligent?

[TucsonMTB]

This time of year, the Arizona Bureau of Land Management (BLM) bans target shooting because of dry conditions. You can read this and other fire danger restrictions here (http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/fire.html).

[CrabbyAzz]

Isn't Gary Herbert a republican & NRA darling Governor?

Here is what the NRA sez.. "Please contact Governor Gary Herbert and thank him for supporting the Second Amendment and signing HB 117, HB 129 and 1st Substitute HB 395 into law."

So what are you guys going on about. I go down to my range and find aerosol cans and everything imaginable that people use as targets. No liberal conspiracy here!

[Popeye]

It might be true that the Govenor of Utah is an ass, I don't know anything about him. Let's be realistic though not all gun owners are not asses themselves. Shooting in extremely dry areas is not the smartest thing one should be doing. Then again some people wouldn't have a clue even if you handed them one.

[CrabbyAzz]

It might be true that the Govenor of Utah is an ass, I don't know anything about him. Let's be realistic though not all gun owners are not asses themselves. Shooting in extremely dry areas is not the smartest thing one should be doing. Then again some people wouldn't have a clue even if you handed them one.


100% agree

[jocko]

I am a resonsible gun owmer and at times I am indeed an ass!!! You can be both

[CrabbyAzz]

Some liberals are getting more insane day by day. Nancy Pelosi is saying that bringing contempt charges against Eric Holder are really a secret and highly funded attempt to suppress votes! ... Huh? :001_huh:


That's because Holders number one job right now is blocking republican tactics for voter suppression of minorities, elderly and poor. This whole arms thing is basically a distraction. Funny how conservatives and gun owned for years lived by the mantra "guns don't kill people, people kill people." Funny how all of a sudden "guns kill people!

[Snidely Whiplash]

This time of year, the Arizona Bureau of Land Management (BLM) bans target shooting because of dry conditions. You can read this and other fire danger restrictions here (http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/fire.html).

Rocks burn!? :confused:

Just kidding! :)

[chrish]

Some of the stuff I've been reading point toward incendiary ammo and incendiary targets. Whether or not that was the cause, I don't think anyone can or can't prove at this point, maybe when the smoke settles and they investigate further, but that's the early info that seems to be coming out. Of course, it could have been somebody flicking their smokes off into the brush, or even a fluke of some other kind.

That being the case, I personally am totally against these products. The private range I am a member of does not allow incendiary targets, or tracer rounds, and I'm glad they have that policy. They create a bad, adolescent image of gun owners and they can be hazardous in dry conditions. When something becomes dangerous to the surrounding area, your rights to see stuff blow up end and the safety of your neighbors wins the day IMO.

I can't say I've ever heard of a gun by itself, other than maybe a black powder flash, starting a brush fire. But there are plenty of cases of these types of targets and tracer rounds doing just that.

Guns are not toys, they are tools for hunting and self defense. People that are using them for entertainment in this way, in my opinion, border on irresponsible and are going to ultimately cost us all some of our rights in regard to shooting and gun ownership. I wouldn't be suprised to see this range in Utah closed. Was it worth it? They will most definitely ban the use of those targets at that range now, if that's the true story about what ultimately happened.

[jocko]

for me I don;'t want to be grouped in with a very few that might cause this event to happen. camp fires spread, cigarettes spread, I owuld definitley put guns and ammo in 3rd place and way down on that list to. Just sayin. Govoner might be partiallyright but hge is not eing fair either. Lets take away all cigarettes and abolish catalytic units in cars for they have been proven to cause fires to. Where do u stop. I stll feel in my little mind the gooner is a nit wit, don't care what his NRA stance is either. He should know that this comment doeksn't help the gunowner in the slightest. sh1t happens, ain't a perfect world.. Just saying

[TheTman]

The govenor and article did not mention tracers, or exploding targets. He said in one case it was a bullet richocheting? off a rock causing a spark to ignite some grass. How he came to that conclusion I have no idea.

[JFootin]

Some liberals are getting more insane day by day. Nancy Pelosi is saying that bringing contempt charges against Eric Holder are really a secret and highly funded attempt to suppress votes! ... Huh? :001_huh:


That's because Holders number one job right now is blocking republican tactics for voter suppression of minorities, elderly and poor. This whole arms thing is basically a distraction. Funny how conservatives and gun owned for years lived by the mantra "guns don't kill people, people kill people." Funny how all of a sudden "guns kill people!

So, let me understand this. Nancy Pelosi comes across to you as sane and sensible? :confused:

[Jaguar]

I hear lightning bugs are a real fire hazard:behindsofa: thats why I never kill piss ants during the dry season, they are natures best fire fighters but they never get any credit for it.:D




This cracked me up.

I actually knew a lady who was afraid of fireflies, thought they would burn down her house.

[chrish]

The govenor and article did not mention tracers, or exploding targets. He said in one case it was a bullet richocheting? off a rock causing a spark to ignite some grass. How he came to that conclusion I have no idea.

No, he didn't, but a spokesperson tied to the over arching incident did state that (quote) "They can't prevent people from shooting, but they can prevent them from using explosive targets and bullets that tend to spark more." Saw it on an interview, but I'm sure it's in an article somewhere as well.

That would (to me) imply at least some suspicion that these products might have been involved. Maybe, maybe not. But either way, these product go beyond dangerous, they border on irresponsible. They need to be used in a controled environment. You aren't allowed to just go shoot your gun anywhere and you shouldn't be allowed to use these products just anywhere or anytime.

[QuercusMax]

The mixture of politicians, the media, and members of the public who jump to conclusions based on sound bites from the first 2 groups is indeed a very incendiary combination.

For those of us who live in arid western sagebrush or forest country, wildfires are a very real and big concern, much more than any threat of BG's. There are many causes: lightning, smokers, campfires, fireworks, and welders - to name the most common. Once a fire gets started, the damage can be very significant and the effort to extinguish enormous.

To go beyond the uninformed sound bites on this subject, the main gun-related concern at the moment here in Idaho is careless people who are shooting at explosive targets in uncontrolled situations on public land that has not been cleared of combustible vegetation (such as would be the case at a shooting range), and not general shooting.

To anyone who thinks the governor of Utah is an idiot for expressing concern about wildfire danger, I'll bet that you would change your mind in a hurry if a fire caused by someone's careless actions was advancing towards YOUR house! A wildfire caused by someone welding in the dry sage burned several thousand acres only 3 miles from my house 5 years ago, and I still remember the pit in my stomach as I saw the billowing smoke from the fire that was eventually brought under control only by a large crew of BLM firemen with helicopters and bulldozers.

[Cokeman]

Guns are not toys, they are tools for hunting and self defense. People that are using them for entertainment in this way, in my opinion, border on irresponsible and are going to ultimately cost us all some of our rights in regard to shooting and gun ownership. I wouldn't be suprised to see this range in Utah closed. Was it worth it? They will most definitely ban the use of those targets at that range now, if that's the true story about what ultimately happened.

I don't hunt and would use a few of my guns for self defense, but all of them are used for fun. The place where the fire happened is not a range. People in Utah just shoot outdoors. There are indoor ranges and a few outdoor ranges, but we do shoot just about anywhere. People just look for a place where no one else is around and set up targets.