FOREST FIRES AND THE FOREST IN 

 THE CALIFORNIA SIERRAS 



BY 

 WILLIAM F. HUBBARD 



Late of the U. S. Forest Service 



THE question of fires and their re- 

 lation to the forest, future and 

 present, is to a great degree occupy- 

 ing the minds of all those who are in- 

 terested in the forest problems of Cali- 

 fornia. The discussion of means to 

 prevent the vital danger of forest fires 

 has waxed strong in the press and for- 

 estry meetings. Many of those who 

 consider the question of fire protection 

 seem to favor a 'return to the so-called 

 Indian method in other words to re- 

 peated burning of the entire forest 

 floor to prevent the accumulation of 

 debris and consequent serious fires. 

 When this is stated, in broad lines and 

 with no saving clauses, the trained 

 forester is bound to take exception to 

 the entire argument. Yet when the 

 case is presented fully and from all 

 points of view, there is a broad meet- 

 ing ground for every one concerned 

 where a general policy may be decid- 

 ed on, satisfactory to all. 



The first necessity is a clear state- 

 ment of all the involved points. "The 

 preservation of the forest from serious 

 fire by a return to the old Indian burn- 

 ing" is a phrase most often heard in 

 discussions bearing on the subject. It 

 is argued that the Indians solved the 

 secret of forest protection when they 

 thus kept the forest clean of litter by 

 repeated fires. That they prevented a 

 general conflagration is at least likely, 

 but before their system can be accept- 

 cepted as worthy of imitation we must 

 attempt to determine whether it is the 

 best feasible method which will do 

 most to improve the yield and quality 

 of the timber, and enable the forest to 

 bear the drain put upon it both by the 

 present and the future. 



The proper exploitation of the 



woods for civilized needs requires a 

 more or less intensive system, and to 

 contend that the Indian was acquaint- 

 ed with the principles of forestry is 

 quite as preposterous as to say that the 

 Indian of the middle-western plains 

 was an agriculturist. To the savage 

 the forest is but a collection of trees 

 and a mere item in his surroundings, 

 like the hills, precipices, and rivers. 

 To civilization, the forest is a. source 

 of one of those great staples of sup- 

 ply which makes communal life pos- 

 sible, and, like all such, it bears a con- 

 tinually increasing value with the 

 growth of population. From this it 

 is quite evident that the Indian method 

 must be of peculiar value, and clearly 

 understood to its minutest details, if 

 it is to be applied to the use of present 

 complicated economic conditions. 

 Nevertheless this much lauded system 

 can only be stated in very broad lines 

 and coupled with the most sketchy 

 generalities. 



That the Indians burned the forest 

 floor is both the beginning and the end 

 of the argument. But what is the 

 method in detail ? In what manner 

 did the Indians burn and what was 

 their object? To these definite ques- 

 tions come only the vaguest of ans- 

 wers. One of the leading San Fran- 

 cisco papers stated editorially that the 

 lack of disastrous fires this summer 

 was due to the fact that the woods 

 have been entirely burned over in late 

 years, and there was consequently 

 nothing left to burn. Such is the 

 opinion of a large per cent, of- those 

 who discuss the fire question. Added 

 to this battalion of office table theo- 

 rists is the regiment of old inhabitants. 

 Those who have "lived in the woods 

 for forty years, young man," and 



