WASHINGTON FOREST FIRE ASSOCIATION :: :: Nine 



Report of the Chief Fire Warden for 1915 



To the Trustees of the Washington Forest Fire Association. 

 Gentlemen : 



I submit herewith the eighth anual report of the Chief Fire 

 Warden of the Washington Forest Fire Association, covering the 

 season of 1915, which season I am pleased to state proved very suc- 

 cessful, the losses from forest fires being less than in any year pre- 

 vious, excepting 1913, since the organization of the Association. 



Weather: 



A comparison of the weather records as compiled by the U. S. 

 Weather Bureau during the past eight years gives the following 

 interesting data concerning the rainfall for May, June, July and 

 August of these years. These records are made up from reports sent 

 in from different stations throughout the Western part of the state 

 and are therefore a fair index of general w T eather conditions. 



1908, 7.76 inches; 1909, 5.72 inches; 1910, 5.23 inches; 1911, 

 7.36 inches; 1912, 11.86 inches; 1913, 9.53 inches; 1914, 5.04 inches; 

 1915, 7.31 inches. During the past summer, rains were seasonable 

 in the southern portion of the state, but in the northern part, espe- 

 cially the territory adjacent to Puget Sound, the situation was dif- 

 ferent, as very little rain fell in this locality after the middle of July, 

 and this dry spell continued until the first of September, when light 

 rains fell throughout the western part of the state. In Island, Clallam 

 and Jefferson Counties little rain fell before the middle of October. 

 One very threatening fire occurred in Clallam County the last of 

 September and some work had to be done on another in eastern Jef- 

 ferson as late as the 20th of October. One very bad fire occurred 

 in a logging camp in western Snohomish County on October 1st. 



The season was unusually warm. At times heavy winds pre- 

 vailed, which caused a great deal of trouble and are responsible for 

 most of the damage done. September was an ideal month for the 

 burning of slashings and was taken advantage of by loggers and 

 others in disposing of some bad hazards. 



Organization and Work: 



We added another inspector and four rangers to our force of 

 patrolmen, bringing the total up to eighty-five regular men. Thirty 



