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Canadian Forcslry Journal, April, 19J9 



BRITISH COLUMBIA REDUCES FIRE HAZARDS 



B)) M. A. Crainscr, Chief Forester. 



New Legislation Renders Obligatory the Burning of Debris 

 in Connmercial Operations — More Equipment Bought. 



The system of using light cars for fire-ranging 

 work will be substantially the same as last year; 

 i.e., 23 cars purchased by the department and 

 10 hired cars were in use, making it possible 

 for rangers to get from place to place rapidly, 

 to investigate reported fires promptly, and to 

 take immediate steps in fire-fighting. 



There will probably be a slight increase in 

 those in use along the coast, where travel by 

 land is very slow and difficult on account of the 

 dense undergrowth, lack of roads, and the 

 number of waterways intersecting the country. 



There will probably be a slight increase in 

 personnel. This will be accounted for, by the 

 fact that many of our men overseas will be re- 

 turning; and that there is an increasing public 

 recognition of the menace to public revenue 

 created by unsupervised logging and land clear- 

 ing which will make possible the expenditure 

 necessary to a larger force. 



Burn Old Slashes. 



It is proposed to burn old slash, created by 

 now defunct logging operations, under the super- 

 vision of the Forest Branch, in cases where this 

 is desirable to save the cost of patrolling such 

 hazard every year. This will eliminate a con- 

 siderable fire hazard throughout the province. 



The disposal of new slash is covered by the 

 following amendment to the Forest Act now in 

 the Committee stage: 



Said chapter 1 7 is amended by inserting there- 

 in the following as section 127a: 



"127a. (I) Where as a result of the carry- 

 ing on of any operation for the cutting or re- 

 moval of trees or timber slash including in that 

 expression any brush or debris, is occasioned or 

 accumulated subsequent to the enactment of 

 this section, the person or corporation carrying 

 on the operation shall, on the demand of any 

 officer authorized by the Department, dispose of 

 the slash by burning or otherwise to the satisfac- 

 tion of the Department. In the case of lands 

 in respect of which an annual tax is payable 

 to the Forest Protection Fund, the expenses in- 

 curred in the work of disposing of the slash 

 thereon under this subsection shall be borne 



half by the person or corporation carrying on 

 the operation, and half by the Forest Protection 

 Fund. 



"(2) Where any person or corporation fails 

 or neglects to dispose of any slash at the time 

 and in the manner required under this section, 

 the Department may dispose of the slash, in 

 which case all expense incurred therein shall be 

 forthwith due and payable to the Crown from 

 that person or corporation for the purposes of 

 the Forest Protection Fund. The Crown shall 

 have a lien for the amount of any expense so 

 payable to the Crown, and for all expenses of 

 seizure or detention incurred under this sub- 

 section upon all engines, logging plant, equip- 

 ment, and material used in the operation in 

 which the slash was occasioned or accumulated, 

 or belonging to the person or corporation carry- 

 ing on the operation, and also against the lands 

 upon which the operation in which the slash was 

 occasioned or accumulated was in whole or in 

 part carried on; and such lien shall constitute 

 a charge to the like extent, and shall confer the 

 same rights, and shall be registrable and en- 

 forcable in the same manner as the leins created 

 by the provisions of section 60. 



"(3) Where the lands upon which the 

 operation in which the slash was occasioned or 

 accumulated was in whole or in part carried on 

 are included in any special license, no renewal 

 of that license shall be granted until all ex- 

 penses due to the Crown under this section in 

 respect of those lands are paid in full." 



A number of forest fire pumps are being pur- 

 chased. Last year a trial of these appliances 

 was made and proved a great success. The 

 thorough soaking given by the pumps minimizes 

 the great danger commonly associated with early 

 slash burning of leaving smouldering fires which 

 last into the dry season and sometimes develop 

 destructive activity. 



Operators are more and more showing a de- 

 sire to co-operate with the Department in this 

 kind of work, and are greatly reducing future 

 risks by burning slash. 



