DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS FOR 1931 109 



(4) Fires 



The 1931 fire season was the third in succession with abnormal conditions. 

 Precipitation from January 1st to September 30th was below normal and the 

 mean temperature during the fire season was above normal. These conditions 

 together with the results of two preceding dry years created an extremely 

 dangerous situation. Many previously reliable canoe routes had to be abandoned 

 because of low water and fires burned in the ground to such an extent that it 

 was almost impossible to state that they were definitely extinguished. The 

 number of dry electric storms was exceptionally high. One great redeeming 

 feature however was the comparatively few days of high winds. 



In so far as temperature and precipitation are concerned the seasons of 

 1923 and 1931 were very similar. The official weather records show that the 

 mean temperature during the fire season was higher in 1931 than in 1923 and 

 the precipitation for most of the Fire Districts about equal. 



A comparison of the area burned in each of the two years, years with almost 

 identical conditions, 1931 being if anything more dangerous, shows a total of 

 2,120,148 acres in 1923 and 138,287 acres in 1931. There were 1,343 fires reported 

 in 1923 and 1,851 in 1931. The area under protection in 1931 was larger by 

 some 20 million acres. 



Of the total number of fires 92 per cent, were held to areas of 100 acres 

 or less. tTwo fires got beyond an area of 10,000 acres burning some 14,000 

 acres each. 



Of 1,851 fires a total of 878 were confined to private land and burned 20.2 

 per cent, of the total area. 





