A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 1397 



OBJECTIVES IN FIRE CONTROL 



Complete fire exclusion in a forest is rarely attainable. Fires 

 originate from both human and natural causes, and the latter pre- 

 dominate in many localities of the West. The entire elimination of 

 human-caused fires, desirable as it may be, can not be expected in 

 the forest any more than in our homes and cities. Occupancy and 

 use of forest property involves legitimate need for fire, and some fires 

 will escape through carelessness, negligence, or intent. Therefore, in 

 the management of forests, provision must be made to prevent un- 

 necessary fire from starting and for controlling those that through one 

 cause or another do start. What degree of protection against fire is 

 necessary depends on the purposes of management and the damage 

 that may be expected to occur following fires in a given forest type or 

 region. 



In other sections of this report the damaging effect of fires on forests 

 is specifically shown. The degree and character of damage varies 

 widely in different forest types. In each forest type, the age of the 

 forest, the amount of debris and slash on the ground, topography, 

 weather conditions, and the season of the year in which the fire occurs, 

 all have a marked influence on the severity of the damage that a given 

 fire may cause. Experience proves that if forests are to be main- 

 tained somewhere near their maximum growing capacity, fires must 

 be excluded or held to the lowest possible acreage compatible with the 

 purposes of management for which a given forest is held. One of the 

 major problems in American forestry is to rebuild depreciated forest 

 lands that have already suffered severely from overcutting and 

 burning, and success in recapturing such forest values must be pred- 

 icated on keeping fires entirely out or within reasonable check. 

 Partial, intermittent, or deferred fire control in forest types where fire 

 damage is severe will at best merely perpetuate partially stocked or 

 unmerchantable forests. 



Where timber production is the object of management, it is obvious 

 that a degree of protection must be assured throughout the timber 

 rotation which will prevent seriously reducing the yield or value of the 

 crop. On watershed areas, protection must adequately safeguard the 

 dependent investment throughout its life. In recreational areas, 

 where fires may destroy the unique values, a high degree of protection 

 must be permanently assured even if other resource values would war- 

 rant less intensive protection. Fire control is an essential factor in the 

 maintenance of proper environmental conditions for wild life which is 

 one form or another inhabits all forest land. 



Protection against fire must be planned on a reasonably permanent 

 basis half-way measures generally will produce less than half-way 

 results. In most cases, particularly where only a low annual burn can 

 be tolerated, it will be found that the money spent for partial or inter- 

 mittent protection will be largely a lost and unrealizable investment. 

 The major purposes of management of forest land will be the chief 

 guide in the formulation of the objective in fire control or the limit to 

 which the area annually burned must be held. There are four 

 universal criteria that can be applied as a gage in determining what 

 the objective should be. These are as follows: 



1. How much damage will a given fire cause to present and 

 potential timber growth and other forest values? 



