714 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



cally warn against carelessness in the 

 use of fire, and often give instructions 

 how to construct camp fires and how 

 to extinguish them when breaking 

 camp. They usually contain also the 

 prescribed penalties for infringement 

 of the fire laws. Notices are posted at 

 frequent intervals along roads and 

 trails, at camping grounds, near perma- 

 nent camps and settlements, and in 

 many cases along the boundaries of 

 tracts. On private tracts the fire warn- 

 ing is combined with the trespass 

 notice. 



In the National Forests fire-warning 

 notices are printed in English, Italian, 

 French, and Spanish. Notices printed 

 in Italian are posted where Italians 

 are employed in the railroad con- 

 struction or section work. Spanish 

 notices are used in New Mexico, south- 

 ern Arizona, or other localities where 

 there are many Spanish-speaking peo- 

 ple. Near the Northern boundary 

 French notices are sometimes used, 

 Beyond question many forest fires have 

 been prevented by these warnings. 



In the case of a forest owned by a 

 nonresident it is a good plan to have on 

 the notice the name of the responsible 

 local agent, as well as the owner's 

 name. This lends emphasis to the fact 

 that there is a local man who is looking 

 after the property. 



Lookout Stations 



Lookout stations include watch 

 towers, mountain lookouts, and other 

 elevated stations used for overlooking 

 tracts and watching for fires. On small 

 tracts they consist usually of some sim- 

 ple structure which enables the person 

 responsible for the property to over- 

 look the forest to see if there are any 

 fires, and, in case he sees smoke, to 

 locate the fire. Sometimes an arrange- 

 ment on the roof of the house or barn 

 serves as a watch tower, or a lookout 

 may be built in a tall tree, or it may be 

 necessary to build a rough tower to see 

 over the tree tops. In a rugged country 

 it is usually possible to find some con- 

 venient peak from which a large area 

 can be looked over. (See PI. I.) 



In the organization of large tracts 

 in mountain regions special lookout 

 stations are sometimes provided. These 

 are located at high points from which 

 a large a"rea of the forest can be seen. 

 A man is kept constantly at each sta- 

 tion during the dry season. The va- 

 rious stations should be in communica- 

 tion by telephone or telegraph, or by 

 some system of signals. Each is pro- 

 vided with range-finders or other equip- 

 ment, by means of which any fires that 

 may occur can be precisely located. 

 They are also in communication with 

 the forest ranger or superintendent at 

 headquarters, so that a force of men 

 may be called at once to the fire and 

 put it out. In extensive mountain re- 

 gions these lookout stations constitute 

 an important part of organized fire su- 

 pervision. They have been success- 

 fully operated in the National Forests. 



Telephone System 



One of the great difticulties in exten- 

 sive forest districts is to secure the nec- 

 essary help in fighting fires. The tele- 

 phone is the greatest aid in fire patrol. 

 It enables the man who discovers a fire 

 to call for help and to give directions 

 as to the number of men and the equip- 

 ment needed. By the use of the tele- 

 phone in the National Forests millions 

 of dollars have doubtless already been 

 saved. The Forest Service has since 

 190O built 4,850 miles of tdephone line, 

 and it is exteiiuing the lines as rapidly 

 as Congress furnishes the funds for 

 the work. 



Signal Systems 



When there is no telephone system 

 and a regular lookout station is not 

 feasible, a special system is used for 

 signaling for help in fighting fire. Some 

 prominent peak is selected, from which, 

 in case of fire, the location and size of 

 the fire and the required help are sig- 

 naled by a prearranged code. There 

 are various systems of signals in use. 

 The fire signal is one of the oldest 

 methods. At a time when the signals 

 are not needed small piles of wood, 

 brush, or other inflammable material 



