to the latest exigencies developed by the situation. Either 

 the supervisor or his deputy must keep in sufficiently close 

 touch with headquarters to learn quickly of new developments 

 in the situation fires in other quarters and the like but this 

 should seldom require him to remain continuously for any 

 length of time at the office. His best work can be done by 

 directing the work on the larger fires, the location of trenches, 

 the use of back-firing, the size of the force employed, whether 

 too weak or unnecessarily large, and the like. It is just this 

 service which the most, experienced and capable men on each 

 forest should render during a fire emergency, and it is just 

 this which determines the cost of fighting fires and the ef- 

 fectiveness of the work done in protecting the Government 

 property at stake. While the details must be left to district 

 rangers and foremen of fire crews, periodic supervision from 

 the supervisor or his deputy on the ground is essential to 

 the best work. Many instances occurred last year where 

 timely visits from the supervisor to the rangers in the field, 

 a half day's inspection of the lines, and a few concise instruc- 

 tions as to how the work could be more effectively handled 

 meant success as against failure in bringing a bad fire under 

 control. I feel it essential that the supervisors be in a posi- 

 tion to do just this thing. 



"The district force should resolve itself, during a fire emer- 

 gency, into a crew of reserve quartermasters, foremen of fire- 

 fighting crews, and the like, with one man always on the job 

 at headquarters to keep in touch with the entire situation in 

 the district, handle transfers of rangers between forests to 

 4 make the entire force of the district available where most 

 needed, and keep the general system up to its highest work- 

 ing efficiency. Otherwise all hands should be sent into the 

 danger zone to take hold wherever they can help the super- 

 visors best. Agents need to be placed at labor and supply 

 points from which several different forests can be equipped. 

 The most effective help can often be rendered by relieving a 

 supervisor at his office of other duties and enabling him to 

 take hold of some of the worst fire situations in the field. As 

 a rule, little can be accomplished at such times by inspec- 

 tion or supervision of the field work by the local officers. It is 



6 



