A NEW TYPE OF FIRE LINE 



By M. A. Benedict 

 Deputy Supervisor, Sierra National Forest 



A TIMBER famine in the next 

 generation or two is a strong 

 , probability. The rapid deple- 

 tion of the timber stand on 

 private holdings is a clear prognosis 

 of the grave situation which will con- 

 front this country a few decades hence. 

 To partially meet the demands of the 

 future, millions of acres of public land 

 were set aside some years ago as Na- 

 tional Forests, to be devoted primarily 

 to the protection of mature timber and 

 the young growing stock which furnish 

 the basis of the future crops. Fire is the 

 greatest menace to this growing stock. 



The Forest Service has been paying 

 particular attention to this phase of 

 forest protection for several years, and 

 each year sees the methods of protec- 

 tion brought to a higher state of effec- 

 tiveness. In fact, the point has almost 

 been reached when the American people 

 —the owners of these vast timberlands 

 — can be assured that the great bulk 

 of the growing stock on the National 

 Forests will be in good shape for harvest 

 at the proper time. There are, however, 

 several obstacles that still stand in the 

 way of complete insurance of the free- 

 dom from serious damage to timber from 

 fire. The chief of these in many parts 

 of California is the proximity to the 

 timber producing lands, of large areas of 

 brush lands, which are not potentially 

 valuable for timber production. Im- 

 mense tracts of this type of land are 

 either included within the forest in 

 order to conserve the water supply, or 

 lie just without the boundaries, where, 

 because of their high degree of inflam- 

 mability, they are a constant menace 

 to the timber producing areas. The 

 average fire, starting in this type of 

 country, is only controlled through vigi- 

 lant effort and the expenditin-e of much 

 money. 



The line between the brush and the 

 timber producing areas, on the west 

 slope of the Sierra Nevadas, is generally 



a most clearly defined one, and in order 

 to reduce the chance of serious damage 

 to the timber, the idea of placing a 

 cleared line between the two types was 

 conceived in the fall of 1913, and this 

 line was constructed along the proposed 

 new western boundary of the Sierra 

 National Forest (which coincides closely 



'^s; 





Felling a Snag by a Saw. 

 note how badly it has been burned. 



with the lower timber line) in January 

 and February, 1914. The purpose of this 

 fire line is to afford cheaper and more 

 effective protection to areas which 

 should be devoted to the continued pro- 

 duction of timber. 



The conditions which had to be met 

 were extraordinary, and it was found to 



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