FIREWARDEN'S REPORT. 43 



The Forest Fire Service 



BY CHARLES P. WILBER, STATE FIREWARDEN. 



THE FIRE SEASON. 



The year 1913 presents an unfortunate break in the record of 

 diminishing forest fires. See Table II. New Jersey was hard 

 hit, but the setback discloses no weakening in the efficiency of 

 the Fire Service, for it is directly attributable to the weather, 

 always the controlling and uncontrollable factor in forest fire 

 prevention, as in crop production. The weather throughout 

 the season combined in a curious way excessive moisture and 

 abnormal drought ; no one period of great duration, but in sev- 

 eral instances unusually intense. In March and April brief but 

 excessively dry periods combined with abnormally high winds. 

 As all vegetation is undeveloped at that season and the sandy 

 soils in the pine region dry out rapidly, this condition brought 

 two periods of unusually disastrous fires in South Jersey. Out 

 of a State total of 678 fires reported, 109 burned in March and 

 203 in April; and of the 27 large fires those burning 500 acres 

 or more, one occurred in early March and eight in the two 

 dry periods of April. In May there was a drouth almost un- 

 precedented in the history of South Jersey for that time of year. 

 The local press of May 13 mentions the fact that not since 

 1880 had : conditions of this sort been recorded. During this 

 period 141 more fires were added. The result of these condi- 

 tions is that* we find charged to the spring nearly all of the 

 bad fires and two-thirds of the total number for the year. 



In June there was another lack of rainfall, which is to some 

 extent reflected f in the 88 fires that burned, though as vegeta- 

 tion was then advanced and the high winds of the spring were 

 lacking, the fires were far smaller in size. At the end of June 

 and throughout July, there was, according to the Atlantic City 

 weather data, "less precipitation than during any year since .the 



