A Fire Victim on an Indian Travoy, Avery, Idaho 



which endanger the property of an- 

 other in the vicinity of forest land, 

 is now $50. Offenders have to be 

 be tried by local magistrates, who are 

 often too lenient. The plan followed in 

 in this state has been to enforce the law 

 severely, and prosecutions have been 

 instituted whenever sufficient evidence 

 has been found. 



The employment of rangers to go 

 through their respective districts to 

 assist, inspect or compel the activity of 

 fire wardens is authorized, but the ap- 

 propriation for such service at present 

 does not admit of the employment of a 

 sufficient number of rangers nor for a 

 sufficient period of time. For lack of 

 money, ranger service had to be discon- 

 tinued the first of September. Whether 

 if they could have been employed 

 656 



longer this recent calamity would not 

 have occurred, no one can positively 

 say. 



I think it would be an improvement 

 to our system of preventing forest fires 

 if we require that in logging the 

 branches of at least the coniferous 

 trees be lopped and burned at the time 

 of cutting, when logging is done be- 

 tween the ist of November and the ist 

 of April ; also that we have adequate 

 means for the employment of compe- 

 tent patrol or rangers ; and further, 

 that we copy the New York law re- 

 quiring railroad companies to maintain 

 efficient patrols between April and 

 November, and in case of their failure 

 to do so, that the state do it, at the ex- 

 pense of the railroad companies. 



