SOME NEW IDEAS IN CONTROLLING FOREST FIRES 



By SAMUEL J. RECORD 



Vw^HEN Daniel W. Adams last July became supervisor of the Arkansas 

 vix ^^tional Forest the principal problem confronting him was that of 

 ^^ protecting the forest from fire. The previous fire season had been par- 

 ticularly disastrous, due largely to incendiarism. The enforcement of laws 

 pertaining to the disposal of the public lands and timber made many enemies 

 for the Forest Service. It seems typical of a lawless mountaineer never to 

 fight in the open and true to their instincts the enemies of the service fought 

 from ambush. They burned the woods, they slashed and tore the posters and 

 notices, they destroyed telephone lines, all with wanton disregard for the wel- 

 fare of their law-abiding neighbors. The majority of the people in and near 

 the national forests of Arkansas are opposed to forest fires and to all forms of 

 lawlessness, but have hesitated to openly oppose such acts for fear of a crim- 

 inal few. The unfortunate forest agitation at Washington was directly re- 

 sponsible for two-thirds of the fire damage on the Arkansas forests last season. 

 The enemies of the service encouraged and incited by baseless charges and 

 distorted rumors went to excesses that proved their own undoing. 



When Mr. Adams assumed charge his main efforts were directed to a so- 

 lution of the fire problem. First attention was devoted to organizing the better 

 class of forest users in a fire protective association. In union these people 

 have found the moral strength to oppose the lawless element and thus make 

 woods burning unpopular. The dues of the association are devoted largely to 

 establishing a fund to provide rewards for information leading to conviction 

 of incendiaries. The value of the organization in reducing the fire danger 

 through enlightened public sentiment has been fully demonstrated and will 

 increase with growing membership. A disastrous fire season has taught the 

 farmers an expensive lesson, that the incendiary menaces not only the forest 

 but their property, their homes, their very lives as well. 



Favorable public sentiment is essential but not in itself sufficient to elim- 

 inate the fire danger. Even under the best conditions fires will occur through 

 accident or lightning or other uncontrollable source. Adequate protection 

 requires (1) means of prompt discovery and location of fires; (2) ready access 

 by trails and roads to all parts of the forest; (3) efficient means of fire fighting. 

 Supervisor Adams, with years of practical training and with no small inven- 

 tive genius, has been concentrating his attention on improvement of require- 

 ments (1) and (8). For months he has worked unceasingly, but good results 

 are rewarding his industry and application. He has prepared a report de- 

 scribing his equipment, apparatus and protective devices. While some of his 

 ideas may, at first blush, appear rather fanciful, they mark the most advanced 

 step in the application of science to forest fire control. 



Mr. Frank Rush, of the Wichita National Forest, has demonstrated the 

 importance of water in fighting the hot prairie fires of his locality. He hauls 

 the water in a tank to the scene of a fire and ajiplies it by means of large 

 sprinkling pots. In the mountains and rough forest lands water could not be 

 hauled on a wagon, and there is usually a scarcity of water in the vicinity of 



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