American Forestry 



VOL. XVII OCTOBER, 1911 No. 10 



FIRE PROTECTION IN THE NATIONAL FORESTS 



By EARLE H. CLAPP. 



Editor's Note.— Tfte conditions and methods of fire protective work in the national 

 forests are clearly set forth in Mr. Clapp's article, ivhich will be concluded next month 

 with consideration of the topics of equipment, organization, patrol, and fighting fires. 



QROTECTION from fire is absolutely necessary to the successful prac- 

 tice of forestry. On the national forests protection is exceedingly diffi- 

 cult because of the long dry seasons which are almost invariably periods 

 of high winds, and because the national forests are stocked almost entirely with 

 coniferous species and in general are located in the mountainous, most inacces- 

 sible, and most sparsely settled parts of the west. 



The first important work after the transfer of the national forests from 

 the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture in February, 

 1905, was the completion of the administrative organization begun in the 

 General Land Office. The number of men available for administration and 

 protection was at first comparatively small and each man had to cover an 

 immense area. Most of the men were comparatively inexperienced; for fire 

 fighting they were poorly equipped. Public sentiment regarding protection 

 from fire was often indifferent, and in many localities even hostile. Gradually, 

 however, the number of men available for administrative purposes has been 

 increased ; they have become more thoroughly trained for their duties, and 

 have been better equipped. Public sentiment became more and more favorable. 

 It has been possible gradually without doing away with the feeling of indi- 

 vidual responsibility among the men, to give in more detail and to make 

 more directly applicable to local conditions instructions for fire protection 

 which necessarily at the beginning were confined to statements of broad 

 principles. 



The basic principles for fire protection which are being adopted are simple 

 and provide that protection shall be given according to the value of the 

 material to be protected either for market pur])oses or watershed protection, 

 and the degree of risk. The degree of risk depends not only on the number of 

 fires, but the damage which will be done by fire. In addition the following 

 essentials from the stnndpoint of administration are recognized: First, to 

 prevent fires where this is j>ossible: and second, if prevention is impossible 

 to discover fires promptly, to tret to them in the shortest possible time with 

 enough trained men suitably equipped to extinguish them without appreciable 



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