[LA.pm] OT: Fires. Everyone OK?

[Steven Lembark]

> Looks like a friendly campfire
> compared to the one in  San Diego now though...

I spent a few years volunteering to tutor hotshots at
Camp Louis Routh (Tujunga Canyon) Fire Camp. They work
on GED's and train to fight fires (1 day off their
sentence for every 8 hrs on a fire).

Interesting thing about the program is how changed
the guys were after their first real fire. A 30' wall
of flame is a great equalizer: it doesn't ask about
your color, gang, or crime, it just burns. On the fire
break the guys have two choices: cut out the bullshit
or die together. Faced with the flame, they jettisoned
the crap and started cutting.

Interesting thing also is that the fire camps across
the state have the highest success rate of any juvinile
programs for inmates. It may be that the fires are a
useful natural resource -- just don't build wooden
structures in front of them.

-- 
Steven Lembark                                         85-09 90th Street
Workhorse Computing                                  Woodhaven, NY 11421
lembark at wrkhors.com                                      +1 888 359 3508