NATIONAL FOREST WORK 



627 



of forest officers is only human and all 

 experienced fire fighters recognize the diffi- 

 culty of contending with high winds or 

 forecasting the outcome of efforts to con- 

 trol a fire when a strong wind is blowing. 

 Every specific charge against the men in 

 charge of the fight has been carefully inves- 

 tigated by an officer from the San Fran- 

 cisco headquarters, and they have been en- 

 tirely cleared of any suspicion of inef- 

 ficiency. 



Supervisor Charlton and Deputy Super- 

 visor Long have had years of experience in 

 fighting brush fires. They have been par- 

 ticularly successful in keeping fires out ol 

 the forest under their charge. Last year 

 the Angeles' record for prevention and 

 prompt control of fire was the best in Dis- 

 trict 5, comprising California and Western 

 Nevada. 



Causes beyond the control of these men 

 or the rangers who assisted them were 

 alone responsible for the failure to extin- 

 guish this fire in its early stages. 



As soon as it was found that there was 

 no possibility of ordering out troops (the 

 authority for which was requested by the 

 district office), emergency bodies of fire 

 fighters, each 20 to 25 strong, were assem- 

 bled at Balversfleld and at Bishop and held 

 "under arms" for two days. Luckily these 

 were not needed, but if the need had arisen 

 at least 100 men under the leadership of 

 six experienced fire-fighting rangers could 

 have been rushed to the scene from nearby 

 forests. 



The people and commercial organizations 

 of San Bernardino, Redlands, and Riverside 

 gave splendid cooperation in bringing this 

 fire under control. They are entitled to the 

 sincere thanks of the department and the 

 people of Southern California who are bene- 

 fited by the protection of the San Bernar- 

 dino mountain range. 



A number of valuable lessons can be 

 learned from this fire. A study of its his- 

 tory indicates the need, first of all. of closer 

 cooperation between the people of southern 

 California and the Forest Service. It citi- 

 zens and employers of labor will organize 

 themselves into protective associations and 

 agree in advance to send help immediately 

 on receipt of notice that help is needed on 

 a fire, assurance can be given that the his- 

 tory of the San Bernardino conflagration 

 will not be repeated. The construction of 

 trails, fire lines, the purchase and storing 

 of tools and other equipment at strategic 

 points, the employment of additional patrol- 

 men — all these measures will help, but the 

 appropriations made by Congress are not 

 large enough to do everything at once that 

 should be done. The people of southern 

 California must cooperate even more liber- 

 ally than they have in the past if fire is to 

 be kept out of the mountain ranges. 



August 26, 1911. 



A Government Timber Sale and Its 

 Conditions 



The Department of Agriculture and the 

 Department of the Interior have just con- 

 cluded arrangements that will probably 

 lead to the largest timber sale ever under- 

 taken by the Government. The tract to be 

 lumbered is in the eastern part of Arizona 

 and comprises a large portion of the Sit- 

 greaves and Apache National Forests and 

 a part of the Fort Apache Indian Reserva- 

 tion. The total area to be lumbered is 

 about 200.000 acres, and contains approxi- 

 mately 600,000,000 board feet of merchant- 

 able timber. 



Application for this stumpage has been 

 made by the Navajo Development Company, 

 a corporation chartered under the laws of 

 Arizona, and a careful examination of the 

 area has been completed by representatives 

 of the company and of the Forest Service 

 and the Indian Office. This does not mean 

 that the development company will secure 

 the stumpage unless its bid is the highest, 

 because, under government regulations, the 

 timber will be sold to the highest bidder. 

 But the fact that the company has made 

 application warrants the placing of the ma- 

 terial upon the marlvet. 



Nine-tenths of the timber, or approxi- 

 mately 575,000,000 board feet, is western 

 yellow pine, which possesses many of the 

 excellent qualities of the white pine of the 

 Northwestern and Lake States. The lum- 

 ber manufactured from it combines light- 

 ness with strength and easy-working quali- 

 ties; the best grades are made into finish- 

 ing stock, flooring and ceiling, and sashes 

 and doors. The clear material is highly 

 prized by pattern makers, and one manu- 

 facturer of this wood sells his entire output 

 to a transcontinental railway line for use 

 in making patterns in its shops. 



The timber next in importance on this 

 area is Douglas fir, of which there are 

 15,000,000 board feet. This wood is excel- 

 lent for mine and other timbers, and some 

 railroads pay a higher price for Douglas 

 fir ties than for those made from other 

 kinds of trees, because they last much 

 longer when in contact with the ground. 

 The rest of the merchantable material is 

 made up of white fir, Engelmann spruce, 

 Mexican white pine, blue spruce, and cork- 

 bark fir. 



The timber is located about 60 miles 

 south of Holbrook, Arizona, the county seat 

 of Navajo county, which is on the main line 

 of the Atchison. Topeka and Santa Fe Rail- 

 road. From Holbrook a railroad can be 

 built south to the timber, and will pass 

 through a region where there are several 

 small towns and much agricultural land 

 which can be irrigated. The full cost of 

 railroad construction will not have to come 

 out of the investment for developing the 



