Posted On: October 24, 2007, 1:56 pm CDT

Posted By: Californian

Having just moved to California from the Midwest, I have to differ with you Ohioan. The larger planes can't fly during winds that gust to 100 miles. Plus, many of the fires start in canyons where the terrain is even tougher to traverse with the larger planes needed to soak the land. I watched them try to soak some areas from higher up only to see the water blown completely away from the fires. Unfortunately, water does not land with the same precision we assume with the missile technology of today.

Natural disasters are not always easy to predict and reacting to them is often thwarted by the realities of conditions. Next time a flood hits Ohio, ask yourself the question of why levees and sand dams weren't built faster when it was known several days in advance that the rivers would flow over the edge? Can't always be done on a moments notice when the floods are already rising.