Dear Editor: Let me start by saying that I have complete respect for the firefighters manning the Simms Fire at U.S. Forest Service direction and the first responders and do not hold them responsible for anything that went wrong on the Simms Fire. They were following orders.

To continue: To say there was no “gross negligence” with how the Simms Fire was handled is a complete coverup on someone’s incompetence. The issues started long before the prescribed burn was ever lit. As reported by th...