It’s been hot outside! After a record number of days over 90 degrees, what gives?

More on that in a moment on the Face The State Radio Minute.

I’m burning up – and no, it’s not my love life I’m talking about. It’s hot outside! And that heat, crossed with paltry precipitation, brings with it a huge threat of wildfires.

There’s lots of reasons our forests so resemble a tinderbox. Poor forest management has led to far too many trees in far too confined a space. But it’s too late now to deal with many of those problems. The train has long left the station, as the saying goes. So now we’re left with the consequences of our government’s negligence. A state committee on wildfires kicks off this week. That panel should find ways to prevent fires, and fight them when they do happen.

I’m not one to ask much from my government, but with so many of our forests owned by state or federal authorities, this is very much their responsibility.

For FaceTheState.com, I’m Brad Jones.