THE FOREST 191 



Northwest, the private companies and state governments have 

 on hand a large quantity of fire-fighting equipment and very 

 extensive systems of fire lookouts. In southern California, 

 where forest cover is so essential to watershed protection, 

 county as well as state and federal fire protection agencies 

 have been developed. 



The Federal Forest Service protects the national forests as 

 a part of its regular job and, at the same time, protects sur' 

 rounding private forests, since the fires on that land are a men' 

 ace to the national forests. Washington and Oregon have very 

 complete state fire protection laws. 



To help promote this organised state forest protection, the 

 federal government has passed two laws appropriating money 

 to be spent by state fire protection agencies. This federal money 

 is given with the understanding that the states will spend at 

 least an equal amount for the same purpose. This is what is 

 known as a "grant in aid." Forty-four states have qualified for 

 these grants. In 1936 the states and private persons spent 

 $4,778,544.73 for fire protection. The total spent was $7,083,- 

 306. 8 



Oregon and Washington charge private operators for pro 

 tecting their land if they do not have a fire-control system of 

 their own. Oregon, for instance, charges the operator a rate of 

 not greater than 5 cents an acre for this protection. In both 

 Washington and Oregon, owing chiefly to the pressure from 

 the lumber companies themselves, laws were passed regulating 

 the burning of slash. In this lumberman-sponsored state law 

 there is a rule that the state forester can order lumbering opera 

 tions to stop if weather conditions make the fire hazard great. 

 The lumbermen wanted these laws passed because there is so 

 much chance that a fire which gets under way on a careless 

 operator's property will spread to the timberland of another. 

 Therefore, it is now against the law to burn slash except at 

 certain intervals selected by the state foresters. On land on 



8 Forest Service Report, op. cit., p. 27. 



