13 Quotes by Matt Mathes

We desperately need to bring the ecosystem back into balance. The smaller trees in that area act as ladders to take fires into the taller Sequoias.

We set up a broad blueprint for what we want to see happened over the next 10 to 15 years. Part of our mandate is to serve the public but also to protect the forests.

When trees are killed in fires, there is a lot of dead standing timber out there. Our fear is that eventually a wind storm will blow the dead trees over and create an enormous campfire effect across thousands of acres.

If they get into a bad situation, there are only two possible outcomes: the individuals will either die or they will have to pay for a very expensive rescue.

Katrina is undoubtedly the biggest problem for the country right now. We had to look at national priorities.

We do not consider it a crime to leave the permit area. It goes against our grain to close the national forests.

Everyone was not going to get what they wanted.

Enough bugs emerge from one tree to kill three or four more.

A lot of our fires are in steep, narrow canyons, and that is not a safe place to put a big airplane like that. Because of our topography, it will probably not be used as much in California. We need something smaller and more nimble.