70 



REPORT OF THE 



No. 3 



September, 680; October, 230. The largest number of men on duty at any one 

 time, including Chief and Deputy Chief Rangers, was 1,042. 



NUMBER OF MEN ON DUTY INCLUDING CHIEF AND DEPUTY CHIEF RANGERS 



April 1st 



April 15th 



May 1st 



May 15th 



June 1st 



June 15th 



July 1st 



July 15th 



August 1st 



August 15th 



September 1st. 

 September 15th 

 October 1st ... . 

 October 15th. . 

 October 31st. . 



1926 



19 

 42 

 168 

 549 

 896 

 966 

 982 

 992 

 987 

 983 

 918 

 798 

 257 

 129 



(3) Expenditures 



The total expenditure for the year was $1,675,938.96, a reduction of 

 S47 1,984.53 from 1931. The amount of fire tax collected for the year was 

 8270,515.42. 



A reduction in staff enabled a decrease in the amount of pay roll. Only 

 such equipment was purchased as was necessary in actual fire fighting and no 

 improvement work carried out which could be avoided. As a result of this 

 there is now much equipment which must be replaced immediately if stock is 

 to be kept up, and improvement work which would increase efficiency and 

 eventually reduce timber losses and fire fighting costs is still further behind. 



(4) Fires 



A period of very high hazard was experienced during the months of May 

 and June. Of the total number of fires for the year, 2,073, the largest number 

 on record, over sixty-eight per cent, occurred before the end of June and burned 

 ninety-six per cent, of the area. 



The snowfall during the winter of 1931-32 was very light in many districts. 

 This condition was followed by periods of high temperature and low humidity 

 with frequently high winds throughout the months of May and June. From the 

 first of July until the end of the season the hazard was normal. 



The total area burned over was 679,021 acres. Of this total 454,665 acres 

 or sixty-six per cent, were in the Hudson Inspectorate. The greater portion of 

 this area of 454,665 acres was burned in six fires. A considerable amount of the 

 area is a direct result of the reduction in staff. Of the six fires responsible for 

 most of the area burned it was not possible to place men and equipment on 

 three of these until some days after they were discovered and no men at all were 

 placed on another. Under ordinary conditions of staff these fires could have 

 been controlled when they were first discovered. While the reduction in staff 

 enabled a saving in ordinary pay rol' the extra cost of fighting these fires more 

 than equalled this saving. 



Settlers were responsible for 15.6 per cent, of the total number of fires but 

 only 3.9 per cent, of the area burned, campers for 28.4 per cent, of the fires and 



