DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this morning with the fallout from fires that roared through Los Alamos, New Mexico, last month. A hearing on Capitol Hill today will examine the controversy over using controlled burns to reduce the threat of wildfires. Lawmakers want an accounting of the events that led to the New Mexico fires. They're also expected to debate other fire prevention strategies. Our national correspondent Bob Franken has more on the search for answers to what are literally some burning questions.</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The forest fires that ruined so many homes, so many lives in New Mexico, came about, the government admits, ironically, because of an effort to contain them. Controlled burns, fires set to get rid of highly flammable underbrush in a controlled manner, raged out of control when weather conditions were not adequately considered. Members of Congress have tough questions to ask, and there's controversy over what to do. CNN has obtained a draft copy of the U.S. Forest Service report which advocates a new 15-year program. It would combine these controlled burns with a new emphasis on so-called "mechanical thinning," the cutting of some trees and removal of underbrush. Many environmentalists have resisted this thinning, arguing that it opens the way for logging interests and ultimately threatens entire species of animals.</s>FRANKEN: And this still unreleased report says that if it was fully implemented, costs could rise to $825 million a year. It's part of an ongoing debate about who should protect the environment. Should the environment be protected by defensive actions on the part of the humans who use it or should the traditional way be employed and the environment protect itself and perhaps thrive? Bob Franken, CNN, live on Capitol Hill.
Congress to Open Hearings on New Mexico Fires