Plus looking at miles of scared timber was not visually appealing. We wanted it to remain for our children as we had seen it, unspoiled and beautiful. Smokey had taught us to believe that a burn scar was ugly. To this day, even though I know better, I still have to fight the feeling that burns are bad and ugly. The Western region of the United States is designed to burn.
Eastern forest has a different ecology.
The entire life cycle from hills outside LA to the Canadian boarder and inland to the Rocky Mountains is based on renewal by fire. May plants including Lodgepole Pine require fire to reproduce. The pinecones won't open unless exposed to fire. In the early years after a fire, Lodgepole pines grow in the areas cleared by fire. Later they are replace by Ponderosa pines.