To extinguish a fire, you need two things: water and people who can spray that water on the flames. The rest is just technical details. If, for years, firefighters have been hired NOT based on their ability to “run for long distances carrying a heavy hose,” then welcome aboard. How you identify yourself is your business – but if you can’t handle the hose, you’re anything but a firefighter.

And the constant budget cuts in favor of all kinds of inclusion programs never really help progress, do they?

A huge fire whirl, or “firenado,” spotted twisting through the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles.