

Having done some research the last few days I have come to the possible conclusion that there may be more than meets the eye here.



Blackwater has been in a big legal fight with the town of Potrero to build the nations largest mercenary training center. The people of the Potrero community have resisted Blackwater's attempts to do so, now suddenly all of their homes are gone and the entire community destroyed and purged of all Blackwater resistance.



I have a funny feeling that Blackwater may be getting a real good deal on a huge swath of land after the smoke clears.



Three weeks ago, the Petrero community was asked to sign a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Barbara Boxer about Blackwater's base, including a warning about Potrero's "fire-prone landscape":



"Not only will Blackwater's proposed California paramilitary base disrupt the lives of its residents, but it will also threaten the pristine natural habitat of the Round Potrero Valley, which includes part of Cleveland National Forest and is adjacent to the proposed Hauser Wilderness preserve. The regular detonation of firearms would be a risk both to the fire-prone landscape as well as to the wildlife that currently calls that area home, including the golden eagle and the California condor."



Blackwater is ironically now playing on those very people's emotions by offering their helicopters, tanks and soldiers to help the community and surrounding areas fight the fires.



This fire exploded just as the people of Potrero were preparing for a recall election on December 11 to kick out the planning group members who approved Blackwater's base. With ballots scheduled to be mailed in early November to less than 600 registered voters in this historic vote-by-mail recall, Potrero residents were preparing for an intense campaign over the next six weeks.



But the actual landscape -- and the political landscape -- of Potrero have been transformed over the last 48 hours.



I'm starting to hear on the news that authorities believe some of these fires were deliberately set.



It is almost, just too convenient, I'd say.







