Wildfires are eviscerating America’s forests and landscape. They are wiping entire towns off the map, kill hundreds of Americans directly from smoke inhalation, perhaps thousands indirectly via impaired air quality, and in the case of Los Angeles last year destroyed 15,000 homes and roughly $250 billion in value.

The left blames climate change, and the slight warming trend surely accounts for some of the increase. But these fires are preventable and containable. Government incompetence stands in the way.

Here is an amazing summary of the crisis from Montana Senator Tim Sheehy:

“Right now, if you send a Marine overseas to go fight a war against America’s adversary, he’s got radios, he’s got guns. If he gets killed, his family gets a $400,000 service member group life insurance plan. He’s got healthcare. If he gets injured, he’s got VA benefits.

“Let’s say he’s got a twin brother, and he goes out to fight a wildfire out West. And he gets hurt? He’s got no life insurance, no health insurance. He’s got no pay if he gets injured, no pension like the VA. He’s got gear that is from the Vietnam era instead of from modern day. He doesn’t have the same communication suite. He’s not given the same level of equivalent weapon system technology he would get in the Marine Corps.

“The guy going out to fight wildfire is more at risk than the one we’re sending overseas. And that’s unacceptable.”

Let’s stop sending troops overseas and protect the homeland by using the money to stop the carnage of fires here.