but that isn't a joke.
The massive California fires last summer were mostly caused by environmentalists, in a round-about-way.
The government wanted to go in and remove "old-growth" trees. That being dead trees that haven't fallen yet. Environmentalists fought against the action, stating that the government would be killing squirrels and bird and such that nested in the trees.
Now, dry and dead trees burn a lot easier than growing, live trees. If the dead trees had been removed, they fire would not have spread so quickly.