638 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



the fire is creeping very slowly it can 

 usually be stopped upon reaching this 

 line. If fanned by a breeze, it is neces- 

 sary, if the wind is in the right direc- 

 tion, to start fire all along the trench 

 and back-fire. 



The trenches are located along the 

 ridges or follow the contour of the hills. 

 Advantage is taken of streams and 

 other natural fire breaks, such as rock- 

 slides, to help out in making the 

 trenches. In many cases back-firing is 

 done at night, even against the wind, 

 by clearing out the timber to a width 

 of 20 feet along the trench. The clear- 

 ing of the timber is to prevent a flare- 

 up and jump across the line. 



FIRE-FIGHTING CREWS 



Individual fire-fighting crews include 

 from 12 to 20 men. These men are 

 cquii)ped with mattocks, axes, and shov- 

 els. The proportion of each kind of 

 tool varies in accordance with the char- 

 acter of country. In open yellow pine, 

 shovels are mainly used. In dense 

 cedar, hemlock, and white pine, mat- 

 tocks and axes are most useful. Each 

 crew is equipped with 2-man cross-cut 

 saws to cut out large fallen timber. 

 With a 20-man crew in dense timber 

 the distribution is about 10 mattocks, 5 

 shovels, and 5 axes. Enough shovels, 

 however, must be provided to supply 

 each man, since the shovel is the most 

 effective tool after the trenching has 

 been done, and patrol on the trench to 

 hold the fire from crossing is the im- 

 portant work. 



Depending on the country, a crew of 

 20 men can cut from ^ to i^ miles of 

 trench in a day. It is clear from this 

 why so many men are required on the 

 fire line. A large number for a short 

 period is essential in order that the fire 

 line can be put in as quickly as possible. 



In placing the fire trench many ex- 

 perienced fire fighters differ ; some fight 

 up close to the line, not giving any more 

 than they can help ; others get ahead of 

 the fire line and trench and back-fire to 

 stop it. The method of fighting close 

 is most applicable when the fire is 

 creeping slowly down a hill. On ac- 



count of the fires' quieting down at 

 night, the close fighting can usually best 

 be done at that time. In all of the 

 methods the object is to get the ground 

 fire surrounded on all sides by a trench 

 dug to mineral soil and all inflammable 

 debris removed so that it cannot cross 

 the line. 



Fighting ground fires is hard, mean 

 work. Digging through the forest lit- 

 ter and usually rocky soil in the heat of 

 an August day, with the smoke and 

 ashes smarting the eyes and irritating 

 the throat, is no child's play. There is 

 no danger until high winds change the 

 ground fires to top fires. The violence 

 of a top or crown fire depends upon the 

 one factor upon wdiich the failure or 

 success in holding a fire depends — the 

 wind. There is no known way to fight 

 a fire of this character when the wind is 

 very high, except to back-fire from a 

 considerable distance, where advantage 

 can be taken of natural barriers, such 

 as roads or bare ridge tops. 



FULL CONTROL POSSIBLE 



The question will be raised as to 

 whether it is possible to protect these 

 areas from fires and whether or not it 

 is worth while. Appreciating even the 

 full significance of the catastrophe of 

 this year, there is not the slightest 

 doubt but that with an adequate trail, 

 look-out, and telephone system, and a 

 sufficient equipment of tools, the fires 

 can be controlled. The fundamental 

 factors in the wdiole situation are tele- 

 phone communication, trail transporta- 

 tion, and man patrol. 



Now, granting the practicability of 

 locating and controlling fires, the ques- 

 tion, "Is it worth while?" has been 

 raised many times. The estimate of 

 valuable timber in the present district 

 of periodical fires in the National For- 

 ests of Northern Idaho and Northwest- 

 ern Montana is approximately 80 bil- 

 lion feet. Conservatively valued at 

 $2.50 per thousand feet, this represents 

 a total money value of some $200,000,- 

 000. The recent fires covered two 

 watersheds where sales had actually 

 been made aggregating in stumpage 

 value $850,000. 



