D 



URING 1913 the forces on the national forests fought 

 4,520 fires, or nearly twice as many as started in 1912, 

 the best year the forests have ever had. 



Fire Damage Kept Down. 



Notwithstanding the great increase in the number of fires, 

 Forester Graves considers that the showing made by the 'for- 

 est service was quite as favorable as that in the preceding 

 year, because the damage done and the costs of fire fighting 

 were no greater proportionately than in 1912. In both years 

 practically 50 per cent of all fires were detected and extin- 

 guished before they burned over a quarter of an acre, and 25 

 per cent of both years' fires were put out before they cov- 

 ered 10 acres. Of last year's fires, 3,278, or considerably more 

 than the whole number of fires in 1912, were confined to areas 

 of less than 10 acres, and in 1,080 additional fires less than 

 $100 damage was done by each. In only 25 fires did the 

 damage amount to $1,000. 



The aggregate loss in timber is estimated at nearly 59 

 million board feet, valued at about $82.000, and the damage 

 to young growth and forage is estimated at about $110,000, 

 making a total of about $192,000. About 18 per cent of this 

 loss, however, was incurred on private lands within the for- 

 ests where 16 per cent of the fires had their origin. 



Care with Engines Increasing. 



One encouraging feature is that the total number of fires 

 set by railroad locomotives was scarcely more than in the 

 preceding year and represented only 12 per cent of all fires, 

 as against nearly 19 per cent in 1912; also the proportion set 

 by sawmills and other engines in the woods was consider- 



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