208 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



about the character of a large fire than can a man on 

 the ground in a heavily timbered area. Controlled fires 

 can be covered each day to see that they do not break 

 out anew. 



At present it is not deemed advisable to reduce the reg- 

 ular patrol and lookout personnel; however, these men 

 may be used more advantageously and, instead of being 

 on patrol duty, may be bunched on improvement and con- 

 struction work ; each working crew to be provided with a 

 telephone set and fire fighting equipment so that upon 

 report of a fire they may proceed without loss of time as 

 an organized fire fighting crew. 



The success of this new patrol depends principally 

 upon the accuracy of the observer in locating the fire and 

 the rapidity with which he reports the fire to the district 

 ranger or warden in whose district the fire is located. 



The accuracy with which a fire can be located depends 

 upon the experience of the observer and the correctness 

 of the maps 

 with which he 

 is provided. 

 The State For- 

 ester has pro- 

 vided complete 

 cover maps of 

 Oregon, show- 

 ing the timber - 

 lands, old 

 burns, brush, 

 cut - over o r 

 farm lands and 

 the location of 

 a 1 1 principal 

 roads, streams, 

 cities and rail- 

 roads. 



Next season 

 the Air Service 

 officials plan to 

 start the patrol 

 at least one 



month before the beginning of the fire season in order 

 that the pilots and observers may familiarize themselves 

 with their duties and the country over which they will 

 maintain the patrol. During this instruction period it is 

 planned to photograph the forested regions of the State. 

 These photographs will be assembled in map form and be 

 used in connection with other maps for the location 

 of fires. 



The lapse of time between the discovery of a forest fire 

 and the action taken for its suppression is a most decided 

 factor in any fire-fighting plan. 



Army planes equipped with wireless telephone sets will 

 overcome this need of rapid communication. The United 

 States Forest Service has been successfully experimenting 

 with wireless telephones on Mount Hood and other look- 

 out points. It is expected that by next season such prog- 

 ress will have been made in the experiments as to make 

 their use practical. However, should it be found impossi- 



A SOUTH VIEW OF MT. HOOD FROM THE AIR 



ble to obtain the necessary wireless equipment, message 

 dropping from the planes can be successfully developed. 

 A panel system of identification will be worked out by 

 which each district ranger headquarters and lookout point 

 will be given an identification mark. A black and white 

 square 30 by 30 feet will be located near the district ran- 

 ger's headquarters and on all prominent lookout points. A 

 corresponding legend will be indicated on the observer's 

 map, so that he may pick up his exact location within 

 any 20-mile radius and can dive down to within 50 or 100 

 feet of the ranger's headquarters and drop his plat show- 

 ing the location of the fire, together with any comments or 

 data regarding its action which would prove useful to 

 the ranger. 



Message-dropping cans, with a screw-top lid and to 

 which a three-foot red cloth streamer is attached, are 

 available by the War Department. A clearing of at least 

 an acre may be found near all ranger stations and ob- 

 servers can 

 easily hit this 

 sized target. 

 The noise of 

 the approach- 

 ing plane will 

 put the ranger 

 on the watch 

 for messages. 



The observ- 

 ers maybe reg- 

 ular Army men 

 trained for this 

 type of work, 

 or they may be 

 experienced 

 fire fighters 

 employed b y 

 the Govern- 

 ment or State; 

 or at least such 

 men will be 

 often used in 

 making a reconnaisance of large fires. Pilots and ob- 

 servers will carry food and fire-arms so that they may be 

 provided for in case it becomes necessary to make a 

 forced landing in an uninhabited region. 



Carrier pigeons will also be used as a means of commu- 

 nication. Experiments in this line were carried on last 

 year and the Signal Corps has detailed an officer and three 

 men to raise and care for the 48 carriers which are now at 

 Eugene. At least 1 1 lofts, scattered through the five States, 

 were to be started about January i, so as to have the 

 homers trained for next year's work. Great care is neces- 

 sary for the proper care and feeding of these birds. This 

 new line of work is not only extremely interesting, but it 

 is believed that the proper organization of an airplane 

 patrol system will result in the saving of thousands of dol- 

 lars lost each year through the burning of Oregon's tim- 

 ber. Many new ideas of forest fire detection and suppres- 

 sion may be expected in connection with this new system. 



