WITH the fire season for this year almost at an end, 

 the snow is beginning to fall in many parts of the 

 forest regions, the time has come for taking stock 

 of the losses that were caused in 1913 from the "Red Dragon 

 of the Woods." The toll during the year was comparatively 

 heavy, due in the main to the dry season of last spring. 



The comparison of one year with another so far as fire 

 losses are concerned is not necessarily profitable nor just. 

 The effectiveness of organized firework is not tested by the 

 amount of the fire loss so much as by the sureness of oper- 

 ation when the fire does come. 



Like Block Signals on Railroads. 



A Western forester of note has said: "Organized firework 

 is like block signals on railroads; its efficiency is measured 

 by its sureness of operation whether emergency comes 'or not, 

 and it is hard to say to what extent luck or preparation pre- 

 vents disaster." 



The point is that a forest service force must be prepared 

 when the "Red Dragon" does start on a rampage. The demon 

 did start on a rampage last April but he was curbed before 

 he got very far. 



216 Fires So Far This Year. 



So far this year there has been a total of 216 fires reported. 

 The acreage burned over has been approximately 51,000 acres. 

 Nearly half of these fires occurred during the month of April 

 when 94 were reporte.d About four-fifths of the acreage was 

 burned during this unlucky month, or about 41,100 acres. 



It was very dry during April and the fires sprang up all 

 over. The diligence of the forest rangers kept them down. 

 One ranger in St. Louis county had 17 fires in one afternoon 

 in his district. 



