176 FOREST OUTINGS 



recreational use on the forests; and many people will grumble, and some 

 will break bounds. In all ways possible, however, the public must be warned 

 and impressed with the danger, for it is literally impossible to change the 

 fire habits of citizens in a humid area within a month or so; and if fires do 

 break bounds in that debris, the result, over such ground as the flames 

 race, could easily be such as would make even the hurricane itself seem a 

 mild visitation, by comparison. 



Foresters and woodsmen frequently argue whether opening up trails and 

 roads into the woods, for recreational and commercial use, increases the 

 fire loss, or reduces it. A thoroughgoing analysis of the record, made by 

 Elers Koch and Lyle F. Watts for this report, shows that opening up forests 

 generally increases the number of fires, but also greatly facilitates fighting 

 the fires, putting them out more promptly and effectively, by modern 

 methods. 



On 6 western national forests, all existing records since 1924 indicate 

 that campers learned to be about twice as careful with their campfires 

 during the years in question. 2 Smokers' fires dropped from 2 to each 10,000 

 forest visitors to 1 such fire for each 10,000 persons visiting these forests. 

 In view of the fact that far more people, both men and women, have the 

 habit of smoking now than had the habit in 1924-27, the first period cov- 

 ered by this compilation, it appears that the long, slow educational drive 

 against smokers' fires is taking effect. But it is a discouragingly slow busi- 

 ness; and so many more people are using the forests now that, while they 

 take about twice as much care with their smokes as they used to, the total 

 number of forest fires carelessly started by smokers has actually increased 

 since 1924. 



A complete tabulation of the data is appended on page 292, Appendix. 



