FIRES IN WASHINGTON AND OREGON 



647 



aimed at. It is better to spend money 

 in preventing fires from getting under 

 headway than in fighting large fires. 

 During the dangerous season no fire 

 guard should have a district to patrol 

 which he can not cover easily in one 

 day. The average area covered by each 

 National Forest ranger in Wash- 

 ington and Oregon exceeds 50,000 

 acres. Not infrequently it is more than 

 this. 



In many instances the value of stand- 

 ing timber guarded by a single ranger 

 exceeds $3,000,000, and when it is con- 

 sidered that these same men are also 

 responsible for the prompt and efficient 

 conduct of other National Forest busi- 

 ness, the inadequacy of such a force 

 needs no further demonstration. It is 

 sufficient to say that good insurance 

 on three million dollars' worth of prop- 

 erty could hardly be had for $1,100 or 

 $1,200, the salary of a ranger. 



The National Forests of Washing- 

 ton and Oregon contain over one-third 

 of all the standing timber in such For- 

 ests throughout the United States. Its 

 value, conservatively estimated, is not 

 less than $400,000,000. To properly 

 guard this great national wealth re- 

 quires adequate means of communica- 

 tion, trails, roads and telephone lines, 

 and a sufficient number of men during 

 the summer months to patrol the area 

 properly. Trail and road building is 

 here more expensive than in any other 

 section of the United States, but the 

 value of the timber warrants large ex- 

 penditures, for it is the finest timber in 

 the world. Provision for its proper 

 protection should be made at once. The 

 people of the United States can not 

 afford to wait until disaster forces the 

 necessity for such protection upon 

 them. Here is a case where the door 

 may be locked before the horse is 

 stolen. 



