Firstly, to be clear, the fires in San Diego are not “forest” fires – they are “Chaparral/brush” fires.

Secondly, three years after a Chaparral fire (particularly if there has been no rain) the brush is ready to burn again… and has in many places in CA.

So bringing up “old growth forests” with respect to San Diego fires is just nonsense.

Firebrand, I completely agree with you. It seems when people are hiding behind a keyboard, they will say almost anything.

Why are fires becoming more frequent in the West? One word, us. A major reason is non-native, invasive annual grasses that have been introduced by humans (mostly as ornamentals or turfgrasses in landscapes). These grasses create large fuel loads and enable fires to spread. A desert without these invasive grasses will not carry fires great distances and will have very small fuel loads.

Bottom line, not all fire is good and quit planting invasive grasses as ornamentals!

The breed is rather aggressive (as anyone who’s owned one probably knows) and are, indeed, adept at being watchdogs. And they aren’t difficult to spot!