FOREST SERVICE. 305 



nia), however, the peak of the fire season was reached in the hist 20 

 days in September. 



In spite of the prolonged dry period, districts 1 and 2, located 

 in the Rocky Mountain region, had the most favorable season in 

 years. On the Pacific coast and in the Southwestern and Eastern 

 "States the situation was more difficult than usual. In district 6 

 (Oregon and Washington) the protective organization was seriously 

 handicapped by the smoke blanket which covered the entire country 

 during the season. 



Man-caused fires dropped from 4,400 in 1921 to 4,052. In com- 

 parison with the averages for the five-year period 1916-1920, the 

 percentages of fires caused by brush burning, railroads, and lum- 

 bering fell, while those caused by campers, smokers, and incen- 

 diaries rose. The incendiary fires were chiefly on one or two for- 

 ests in district 1 and district 7, where some of the settles are 

 antagonistic to fire control. In most of the districts incendiarv fires 

 were fewer. The rapidly growing use of the national forests 

 would naturally lead to many more campers' and smokers' fires; 

 but the outstanding fact is that except for highly localized "sore 

 spots" of incendiarism man-caused fires seem to be decreasing. 

 They are undoubtedly decreasing rapidly in relation to the greater 

 use of the forests for recreational purposes. 



The area burned in 1922 was slightly less than in 1921, but the 

 damage to national forest resources more than doubled. This was 

 because of more serious fires in stands of merchantable timber in 

 1922. The cost of suppressing fires in 1922 amounted to $674,612, 

 as compared to $512,106 in 1921 and $911,476 in 1920. 



The 1923 fire season is not yet over, so that statistics covering 

 it can not be given. During the months of May and June the 

 fire situation was extremely critical on the Minnesota forests of 

 district 2 and in district 7. The latter district is experiencing the 

 Avorst fire season in its history. Most of the fires in Minnesota dur- 

 ing May and June in- 1923 occurred through the* spreading of fires 

 set by settlers and lumbermen in disposing of slash. The months 

 of July and August were extremely favorable, and the indications 

 are now that the season of 1923 for the Forest Service as a whole 

 will be the best since 1916. 



Fires which originated on lands outside of the forests were about 

 average in number, but were more than usually extensive and de- 

 structive. The hazard created by fires which start in slashings on 

 private lands is always present. Serious losses in property damage 

 and fire-fighting expenditures occurred from this cause in Montana, 

 Arizona, and New Mexico in 1922 and in Minnesota in the spring 

 of 1923. This situation can be met only through cooperation with 

 the operators on private holdings to extend to these outside lands 

 the most effective standards of fire prevention. This cooperation is 

 carried into effect where it has been brought to its highest develop- 

 ment by means of a " cooperative fund," in which are net up the 

 deposits made by the cooperating owners. Deposits to the credit of 

 these cooperative funds aggregated $128,240.89 during the year. 



In this financial cooperation it is planned that the cooperator's 

 expenditures per acre shall not be less than those of the Forest 



