[greglepore]

Yeah, I'd venture to say that the overwhelming majority of the critics have never worked in anything resembling the fire service nor do most have a rudimentary knowledge of firefighting hydraulics.

The most telling statement is Bob's body count comment. You simply can't imagine what a wind driven fire does, and these were hurricane force winds. Think about that for a moment. It'll leap anything, and its very very likely to kill you in the process. The primary way to fight a forest or brush fire of large magnitude is to cut or bulldoze large firebreaks, and you're not doing that in the LA hills.