10 



doubtful whether in a country such as this, fire lines will of themselves 

 stop fires, but they will make it possible to hold a fire within fixed 

 limits, and, in addition, they can readily be used to back-fire from. 

 The lines should be from 200 to 300 feet in width, and on them every- 

 thing inflammable should be burned, and, if necessary, tops and 

 limbs should be piled. Old stubs should be felled and the ground 

 cleared as far as possible. The lines may best be located along old 

 tramroads or logging spurs. The best time for constructing such 

 lines is in the fall or early spring, when the danger from burning is 

 least. Areas of greatest danger should have the greatest number 

 of lines. Twenty miles of fire lines should suffice for an ordinary 

 township, and their construction should cost from $12 to $15 per mile. 



PATROL. 



The chief point in fire protection is to discover and extinguish 

 fires as soon as started, since very few fires are hard to handle in 

 their first stage. For this purpose a patrol should be established. 



One patrolman should cover an area of at least 40,000 acres f daily. 

 If his route is carefully laid out, and the topography of the tract, as 

 at McCloud, makes possible a view of the entire area from all points, 

 the area covered by one man might be much larger. If practicable, 

 the patrol route should follow the higher elevations, from which the 

 whole tract maybe viewed. The length of the route should not be 

 more than the patrolman can cover thoroughly once every day during 

 the danger season. In this instance it should encircle the experi- 

 mental area. 



The duties of the patrolman should be to detect and extinguish 

 immediately all fires starting in his territory, and whenever the fires 

 are beyond the control of one man, to immediately summon help and 

 direct the fire-fighting. The patrolman should also exercise a gen- 

 eral supervision in protecting the tract, by cautioning campers, hunt- 

 ers, and others against fires, and by watching carefully all places of 

 especial danger, such as the neighborhood of logging operations and 

 the camping sites of hunters and others. 



The cost of the patrolman should not exceed $75 per month, includ- 

 ing the keep of his horse. This would mean $300 or $400 per year, 

 according to the length of the danger season. 



TOOL STATIONS. 



In order that tools may quickly be obtainable in case of fire, tool 

 houses should be placed at places readily accessible, preferably along 

 the patrol route. Two such stations on the area covered by this 

 plan should be ample. The stations may be simply chests furnished 

 with rakes, shovels, axes, and the like. 



[Cir. 79.J 



