FOREST FIRKS BURN MUCH TIMBER 



a 



BSENCE of rain in some of the western states 

 dnring the current season has ereated an unusual 

 ^[^ menace in the matter of forest fires. L'ntil re- 

 cently the danger has been kept down hy the 

 increased efificiency of the fire-fighting forces of the 

 L'nited States Forest Service and other agencies con- 

 cerned with protecting the forests. Their work has been 

 so effective that during the earlier ]jart of the season 

 the losses were slight and confined to small areas. Late 

 in August, however, the outbreak of fires became so gen- 

 eral as to cause serious alarm. 



Reports received by the Forest Service indicated that 

 the situation had then become more dangerous than at 

 any time this year. Millions of feet of timber were 

 threatened and it became necessary for the service to 

 suspend some of its other activities in order to concen- 

 trate all available man-power and resources in fighting 

 the flames. In Montana and northern Idaho two thou- 

 sand men had to be engaged in the work under the direc- 

 tion of forest rangers. The expenditures in these two 

 states during the earlier part of the season had aggre- 

 gated about $170,000. With the increased danger the 

 cxpenditurt- rose to $15,0C0 a day. The entire organi- 

 zation of the Forest Service in the aft'ected districts has 

 been devoting itself exclusively to fire fighting. Men from 

 regions in which theie are no fires have been relieving 

 the rangers who have become worn out by their long 

 exertions. 



A grave phase of the fire menace is the threatened de- 

 struction of valuable timber intended for furnishing air- 

 plane slock for the fighting forces of the United States 

 and its European allies. In Oregon and Washington this 

 danger has been particularly emphasized. Several large 

 mills sui)]ilying the government w ith material of this na- 

 ture are in danger of having to make com])lete suspen- 

 sion of ojierations. The gravity of this situation is recog- 

 nized by the Forest .Service and every effort is being 

 made to reduce the hazard to a minimum. 



Prolonged dry weather has been responsible for the 

 fire damage. The forests have become so dry that any 

 fire which makes a start is likely to become a serious con- 

 flagration. High winds have jjrevailed also, and this has 

 made control of even the smaller blazes extremely diffi- 

 cult. The seriousness of the situation is shown by the 

 action of the governor of Oregon in postponing the open- 

 ing of the hunting season in that state. This was made 

 necessary by the need for keeping people out nf the 

 woods as far as might be jjossible. 



Among the causes lightning has played an im])ortan'. 

 l)art. Severe ihuiKlcr storms have Ijeen ]M-evaleni 

 throughout the mountain districts and these have re- 

 sulted in many serious blazes. .As a factor in causing 

 forest fires lightning is one of the most difficult things 

 witli wliich the forest protectors have to contend. In 

 a single limited area a short time ago 19 fires were 

 started in one night as a result of lightning strokes. 



520 



These fires usually start at the foot of trees which have 

 been struck and they smoulder for some time before mak- 

 ing headway. Frequently they cannot be detected luitil 

 a wind fans them into a blaze and it is no uncommon 

 occurrence for a number of such fires to betray them- 

 selves simultaneously to observers through the columns 

 of smoke that arise some time after the storm. One of 

 the most serious phases of fires started by lightning is 

 that they are apt to be in places that are inaccessible to 

 the fire fighters. Trees at great elevations are more ex- 

 posed to the bolts than those lower down and this in- 

 creases the hazard. 



The efficiency of the fire-fighting forces in the west 

 is declared to be better this year than ever before. This 

 is largely due to the lessons tatight by the experience of 

 the last year. The loss in the National Forests until late 

 in August was comparativel\- small as a direct result of 

 ibis increased efificiency. 



At the offices of the Forest Service in Washington 

 it is said that some of the fires of the summer and fall 

 are reported to have been due to incendiarism, but that 

 carelessness has .shared with lightning the cliief responsi- 

 bility. Fires started by cam]iers, settlers and locomo- 

 tives have been frequent. Little or no rain has fallen 

 for weeks, and, while it may l)e possible to keep the fires 

 in check bv organized protective work, officials say that 

 the danger will not lie eliminated until the fall rains set in, 

 and nature asserts her protecting influence. 



WAR TIME USES FOR WOOD 



nilE manufacture of gunpowder requires large 

 qantities of charcoal, which can be secured only 

 from hardwoods, and even smokeless powder re- 

 quires the use of wood alcohol in its manufacture. 

 This product is particularly necessary in the making of 

 gun cotton. Wood alcohol is also used as a solvent in 

 medicine and the wood distillation industry will con- 

 tribute largely to the extra amount of hospital supplies 

 needed during the jiresent war. Acetic acid or wood 

 vinegar, which is another important product, is used in 

 the nuinufacture of cordite and liddite, two high explo- 

 sives. Necessary increases in the production of steel for 

 war-time uses will require a large amount of charcoal 

 for use in blast furnaces. Resides these direct uses, the 

 development of the .American dye indnstr\- takes over 

 a great deal of the wood alcohol obtained from the dis- 

 tillation of hardwood. 



'TWO pieces of maple received from the National 

 Hardwood Lumber Association, one of which was 

 badly discolored, were tested at the Forest Products 

 Laboratory at Madison, Wisconsin. In mechanical 

 tests, where slowly applied loads were used, the two 

 samples were about equal in strength, but in resistance 

 to shock the discolored piece was decidedly inferior. 

 A microscopic examination showed the cell walls of 

 the inferior piece to be partially destroyed by fungi. 



