A BRUSH DISPOSAL POLICY 



41 



"The removal of ordinary forest 

 litter from fire lines will not be re- 

 quired. 



"The brush piles on fire lines must 

 be placed at least 25 feet from trees 

 over 10 inches in diameter and as far 

 as possible from smaller trees. The 

 piles should be large and compact, 

 except when small piles are required 

 in order to avoid destruction of 

 tree crowns in burning." 



"Fire lines will be planned along 

 edges of slash adjoining timber 

 which is not to be cut immediately." 



"Fire lines, natural or constructed, 

 should occur at not over half-mile in- 

 tervals, and the area of continuous 

 slash should not be more than 160 

 acres, or be five-eights of a mile in 

 any one direction. 



"By utilizing natural features, it 

 is expected that the mileage of stand- 

 ard fire lines, whose construction is 



The brush burning reduces the in- 

 tensity of a fire to burning grass and 

 litter. But should not a furrow be 

 plowed through the center of the fire 

 line so as to give an immediate van- 

 tage line from which to back fire. 

 Judging by fire practice in British 

 India and Canada the furrow or 

 cleared space is the essential. Es- 

 pecially in open park line forests. 

 Where practicable, and instead of a 

 plowed furrow (where litter might 

 collect) a path or open road might 

 be substituted. In the very next 

 paragraph the instructions say "Fire 

 lines are intended * * * to fur- 

 nish lines from which to back fire." 

 Without clearing the "ordinary for- 

 est litter" will they accomplish their 

 objective? A fire expert says: "It 

 would be far preferable to make a 

 narrow line more on the order 

 * * * used in actual fire fighting. 

 This would mean say a line 25 to 50 

 feet wide cleared of all slash * * * 

 with a trench 3 feet wide cut to min- 

 eral soil near the outer edge." Could 

 not a gasoline plow be used efficient- 

 ly? Is it possible to pile brush "at 

 least 20 feet from trees over 10 

 inches in diameter?" 



Should not these lines be extended 

 info the uncut timber 200 feet back 

 from the slash on the ground they 

 would be more effective. The furrow 

 suggested in the last paragraph of 

 comment should be wlicre the stand 

 is lightest. 



Draw a diagram of a section where 

 the section is (o) diagonally crossed 

 by a ridge from N. W. to S. E. and 

 (b) with railroad spurs tapping the 

 section diagonally from the N. E. 

 and S. W. Then decide on the best 

 location of fire lines from the stand- 

 point of fire protection. Are the in- 

 structions consistent or practicable? 



