Canadian Forestry Journal, November, 1919 



441 



TlliS THING IS THh: I-'UK Tu GuOD BUSINESS: 

 ■ A damaging forest fire swept across the slope shown in the photograph. Soil washing 

 quickly followed. This is usually the case on steep slopes where the soil is loose. 



As a result of one bad forest fire on a British Columbia slope, all the water that formerly 

 took six weeks to drain off into the rivers now comes out in about two or three days. A lumber 

 company uses the stream in question to float its logs. It used to take everything out in one 

 year's drive. Now the water conditions demand a three years' drive. That is one way by 

 whicii the timber consumer pays the increased costs due to one forest fire. 



AIRPLANES IN WESTERN FORESTS 



Portland, Ore. The expense of operating 

 airplanes for forest fire patrol has so far been 

 borne by the Air Service of the United States 

 Army. During its experimental stage this can 

 continue, but the success of the patrol fore- 

 shadows the time soon when the cost of the 

 service must be paid for pro rata by the owners 

 of the timber protected, according to the 

 Forest Patrolman, a new leaflet to be issued 

 periodically by the Western Forestry and Con- 

 servation Association. Its first issue is in the 

 interests of forest fire protection and it fur- 

 ther says in connection with the use of air- 

 planes: 



"Whatever may be the cost of maintenance 

 and operation of airplanes in forest fire patrol 



work, it can never mount to the total of the 

 annual money loss by forest fires. The indiv- 

 idual machine represents an outlay of several 

 thousand dollars; keeping it in shape for con- 

 tinuous service takes perhaps hundreds of dol- 

 lars; salaries of fliers and mechanicians are 

 high. In comparison with these figures is the 

 annual charge of ten million dollars to de- 

 struction of marketable timber. Last year the 

 forest fire loss on the Pacific coast and Inland 

 Empire is estimated to have been six and a 

 half million dollars. Detection of fires which 

 did this damage when the bla/es were in their 

 incipicncy. would have enabled the fire-fighting 

 forces, federal, state and private, to have pre- 

 vented a good part of this loss." 



