1532 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



leet wide. They must, too, be free of obstructions, such 

 ao teleplione poles, wires, trees, etc. Facilities for gas, 

 oil, and water must be on the tield itself. Automobiles 

 to transport pilots and mechanics from field to town 

 were furnished by local authorities. ( iuards, to watch 

 the planes while the aviators were at lunch, were pro- 

 vided by the Forest Service. Telephone communication 

 with the field was also supplied. JMeals while away from 

 headquarters were provided by the State Forester. 

 Special fiyins,' niajis were prepared and furnished to the 

 aviators, and lookout stations on the patrt)l routes were 

 numbered, both on the map and on the ground, and were 

 designated as control points to report daily on the move- 

 ment of the planes. Certain members of the Forest Ser- 

 vice were designed to act as liason officers, and were 

 stationed at the flying bases. Emergency landings were 

 to be reported by the regular lookouts, and necessary 

 arrangements made to succor and transport the pilot, 

 guard the ])lane, and guide and assist the wrecking crew. 

 Prompt transmission of the pilots' reports was provided 

 for, as was also a daily return report so all pilots might 

 check their fire locations with the actual location as 

 determined on the ground. The pilots picked, visited 

 and mapped emergency landing fields on or near the 

 patrol routes ; reported, on request, upon the condition 

 or progress of large fires, used (with indifferent success 

 except from the standpoint of publicity) parachutes to 

 drop fire messages over towns in Southern California, 

 and experimented with carrier pigeons. Forest officers 

 were frequently taken on the patrols, and a solid and 

 mutual understanding of each others aims and problems 

 was thus obtained. 



On August 15, with the opening of the hunting season, 

 the fire situation in Northern California became critical. 

 Extension of the Air Patrol was asked, and as quickly 

 granted. This extension and other matters, required a 

 reorganization of the whole Air Patrol in California. 



De Haviland planes — equipped with Liberty motors, 

 and carrying 96 gallons of fuel, were substituted for the 

 slower planes carrying nnich less gas and having less 

 climbing power. Two new bases — equipped with tein- 

 ])orary hangars — one at Red Blufif and one at Fresno — 

 were established. New daily routes were laid out, one 

 of which, with only two landings, covers 560 miles, and 

 the service was extended from the original 5 to 15 

 National Forests in the State. Two Forests situated on 

 the east side of the Sierras, with but little fire danger, 

 were omitted. 



Beginning September i , eight shi])s are covering twice 

 each day some 16 million acres of National Forests, and, 

 incidentally, some four or five million acres of privately 

 owned timber lands. Eight additional ships are used 

 on alternate days, to allow for necessary repairs, etc., 

 and as relief for the jjilots. Sixteen pilots and 22 

 mechanics are assigned to the work. 



To date (considering now the season as a whole) only 

 six forced landings, with one fatality (which occurred in 

 Southern California during a heavy fog on June i) and 

 no injuries to ])ilot or observer are of record. The 

 damage to planes, considering the number of miles 



covered, and the extremely rough country patrolled, is 

 negligible. 



No figures as to cost — either initial cost of equipment 

 or training, cost of operation or of maintenance, are 

 available except for such general figures that no attempt 

 will be made to cjuote them. .Vnd in this connection it 

 should be borne in mind that the factor of cost, insofar 

 as the comments, ojMnions and conclusions here presented 

 are concerned, is disregarded entirely. 



Having disposed thus easily of what is probably the 

 most vital factor in airplane forest fire patrol to all 

 owners — including the Federal Government — of timber- 

 lands, I shall proceed with various comments, observa- 

 tions and ojjinions. They will, I hope, provoke thought 

 and comment both from the different agencies directly 

 interested in forest fire protection and from members of 

 the Air Service who have, this past season, engaged so 

 earnestly and enthusiastically in this work. 



Three months' trial with airplane forest fire patrol 

 has demonstrated that discovery of fires is right around 

 85 per cent efficient and can be made practically 100 per 

 cent efficient, either by providing for a longer period 

 of time in the air or, possibly, by better correlation be- 

 tween the time of flight and the times of day (as shown 

 by analysis of fire reports) when the biggest percentage 

 of fires start. 



The eft"ective discovery radius, if we may call it that, 

 varies with atmospheric conditions and the altitude of 

 the ship; but may be placed, with an altitude of 5,000 

 feet above the country patrolled, at not less than 30 miles. 

 I have personally discovered new and unexpected donkey 

 engine smokes in the McCloud country at a distance of 

 30 miles, and after watching, recognized them as donkey 

 smokes. 



Theoretically, accuracy of location should depend at 

 least in part on knowledge of the country, ability to read 

 topography, both actual and as it appears on the map, 

 and on the map itself. Factors other than these also enter 

 into the matter. From a layman's point of view, accurate 

 location of fires seems, perhaps, the most difficult prob- 

 lem (next to actually handling the ship) of the air patrol. 

 Actually wonderful results have been obtained by pilots 

 entirely new to the country and equipped with mighty 

 poor maps. 1 enumerate only one — Lieut. E. C. Kiel, 

 flying a De Haviland for the first time in two months, 

 over an entirely new route, and equipped with a G. L. C). 

 base map, on scale of i inch to 12 miles, placed within ^. 

 mile of its actual location a 200 acre fire that was 35 

 miles away from his ship, and to see which he had to 

 look almost directly into the sun. Other examples can 

 be cited. Mr. !•". .\. Elliott doubtless has many at his 

 command. 



The reporting of the fires must, on the whole be 

 classed as unsatisfactory. Parachutes with messages 

 attached are too uncertain. Carrier pigeons releas- 

 ed from the air, and report by phone or telegrajih 

 after landing are too slow to insure the best results. .\nd 

 vet, in this connection, it must be remembered that the 

 slowness is comparative, and that comparison is made 

 with a system of lookouts and specially built telephone 



