PROTECTION OF FORESTS FROM FIRE 



713 



escaping from locomotives. A stretch 

 of several miles is on a steep grade, and 

 the locomotives under forced draft, 

 throw out great showers of burning 

 cinders, and no spark arresters what- 

 ever are used. As a protection, a fire 

 line varying in width from 8 to 15 feet 

 has been constructed on a bench at a 

 distance of from 50 to 150 feet from the 

 railroad. (PI. IX, fig. i.) The strip 

 between the line and the railroad is left 

 untouched. A patrolman rides over 

 the strip about the time the trains going 

 up grade pass by. Ordinarily the small 

 fires are extinguished by beating. In 

 case, however, a number of fires are 

 started by a train, as often happens, 

 one or two of them burn over the strip 

 to the fire line before the patrolman 

 can reach them. The strip is so nar- 

 row, however, that thev gain little 

 headway, and are absolutely stopped by 

 the fire line. 



In mountainous country, fire lines 

 are located with reference to the topo- 

 graphy. Where roads are used, or Are 

 lines are made that are intended to be 

 used later as roads, the location is gov- 

 erned largely by the principles of road 

 construction. Special fire lines, how- 

 ever, constructed for i:)rotection alone, 

 are built mainlv on tlie crest of ridges. 

 (PI. VIII, fig: 2.) Thus, the wide 

 lines in southern California, already 

 mentioned, are on the various ridges. 

 A fire runs up a slope very rapidly and 

 works over a ridge slowly. If there is 

 a wide, cleared fire line on the ridge the 

 fire may be stopped entirelv by it alone. 

 In the southern A])palachians and other 

 mountains, the old mountain trails on 

 the ridges may be developed into admir- 

 able fire lines. 



The question of when and where to 

 construct special fire lines depends on 

 local conditions, the danger from fire, 

 the value of the forest, the organiza- 

 tion of patrol and force available for 

 fighting fire, the object of the owner in 

 protecting the forest, and many other 

 factors. As with other operations of 

 managen-iCnt, the expense must be jus- 

 tified by the results which their con- 

 struction is intended to accomplish. 



Artificial Fire Obstructions 



It is well known that a small, creep- 

 ing surface fire is stopped or checked 

 by a stone wall or other similar obstruc- 

 tion. This principle may be used in 

 fire protection, and other types of fire 

 lines may often be dispensed with where 

 there are such obstructions. A well- 

 known railroad has been experimentin.g 

 with a specially constructed fire wall. 



SUPERVISION AND CONTROL 



A careful supervision or patrol dur- 

 ing the dry season is one of the most 

 imj^ortant measures in organized fire 

 protection. Its purposes are: (i) To 

 I)revent fires from starting; (2) to de- 

 tect fires as soon as possible after they 

 start ; (3) to fight fires. 



The mere fact that a tract is carefullv 

 watched makes it safer, because camp- 

 ers, hunters, and others crossing it are 

 less careless on that acount. By an 

 efficient supervision most of the unnec- 

 essary fires can be prevented, such as 

 those arising from carelessness in clear- 

 ing land, leaving camp fires, and smok- 

 ing; from improperly equipped saw- 

 mills, locomotives, donkey engines, etc. 



One of the fundamental principles 

 in fire protection is to detect and attack 

 fires in their incipiency. In an un- 

 watched forest a fire may burn for a 

 long time and gain great headway be- 

 fore being discovered. In a forest 

 under proper protection there is some 

 one man or corps of men responsible 

 for detecting fires and for attacking 

 them before they have time to do much 

 damage or to develop beyond control. 



Aids to Sitpcrz'isioii and Control 



Under the head of aids to supervis- 

 ion and patrol are included: (i) The 

 posting of fire warnings; (2) lookout 

 stations; (3) telephone systems; (4) 

 signal systems. 



Posting of Fire Notices 



One of the first steps in organizing 

 protection in a forest is to post it wdth 

 fire warnings. These notices emphati- 



