American Forestry 



Vol. XVI 



SEPTEMBER, 1910 



No. 9 



THE PROTECTION OF FORESTS 



FROM FIRE 



By HENRY S. GRAVES 

 Forester, U. S. Department of Agriculture 



(Owing to its great importance, Bulletin 82 of the Forest Service, which has just been published, 

 will be reprinted entire in American Forestry, in six instalments, of which this is the first.) 



INTRODUCTION 



THE first measure necessary for the 

 successful practice of forestry is 

 protection from forest fires. As 

 long as there is any considerable risk 

 from fire, forest owners have little in- 

 centive to make provision for natural 

 reproduction, to plant trees, to make 

 improvement cutting's, or to do other 

 work locking to continued forest pro- 

 duction. 



In many localities great progress has 

 lately been made in forest protection. 

 ( >rganized fire protection has been es- 

 tablished in the national forests and in 

 most of the state forest reservations. A 

 number of states have begun to de- 

 velop systematic fire protection on pri- 

 vate lands through the organization ot 

 state firewardens. Tn some instances 

 private owners have formed cooperative 

 associations for fire protection and em- 

 ploy a regular force of rangers for pa- 

 trol during the fire season. The most 

 conspicuous and successful associations 

 arc those formed bv certain lumber 

 companies in Idaho and Washington. 



Throughout the country there are here 

 and there instances of serious effort to- 

 ward thorough fire protection by indi- 

 vidual private owners. In spite of all 

 that has been done, however, the fact 

 remains that most of the forests of the 

 country, particularly those privately 

 owned, arc inadequately protected from 

 fire. It is probable that in fully seventy- 

 five per cent of the private forests there 

 is no attempt whatever at systematic 

 protection. 



CHARACTER OF FOREST FIRES 



It is customary to distinguish three 

 classes of forest fires, as follows : 



( i ) Surface fires, which burn the sur- 

 face layer of dry leaves and other litter, 

 dry gra>s. brush, and small trees. 



(2) ('.round tires, which occur where 

 the mineral soil is covered with a deep 

 accumulation of vegetable mold, and 

 which, on account of the peaty charac- 

 ter of the material, burn much more 

 slowly than surface fires. 



1^1 C'n'-rc// tires, which burn through 

 the crowns of the trees. 



