Tanker Trucks for Fire

                                      23^rd July 2021

 

My Dear Governor Newsom,

 

With California in flames as is more and more common a question keeps popping up in my mind. “Why do we not rent tanker trucks to bring water to the fire?” I grant that these will not reach the dens wilderness that is currently burning, but they could stop the fire at roads and homes.

 

We bring in air vehicles to drop water on fires, and I would think that they make structures a priority. Tankers can reach any place with a road and are often fitted to work on construction so they can deal with dirt. I would think that tanker trucks could deliver water to the fire trucks at least giving them more of the number one thing they need to fight the fire.

 

The political activist Michael Moore rented a tanker, filled it with water from Flint Michigan, and hosed down a location to prove a point, and if he can handle the hose I would think most truck drivers can. I’ll grant that this isn’t the best of times to try something new, but Californians want action, and there has to be someone who can tell you if this would help.

 

The fires will only get worse from here on, and we need to get smarter to deal with them. Tanker trucks to bring in water from distance, pumps to use water from lakes and rivers, dry ice to be shoveled into brush to smother the fire are all ideas that we should be looking at. Then we should have apps to organize it all and better management, but right now we need to build numbers and get as much equipment fighting fires as we can.

 

The truth here, Mr. Newsom, is that the world has presented you with a challenge in a dark hour. You’re facing recall with your state in flames. Is there any better time for you to show us that you can lead than now? It’s time to be innovative, it’s time to make history, and it’s time to be the hero you know you can be.

 

I believe in you, Governor,

 

 

Richard Leland Neal