FIRE DANGER SERIOUS 



667 



gone far toward dismembering it; al- 

 ready several small ice strips are threat- 

 ening to become separated from the 

 main body. 



In glacial times the Van Trump 

 Glacier sent forth at least six lobes, 

 most of which converged farther down in 

 the narrow valleys traversing the at- 

 tractive alpine region now known as 

 Van Trump Park. This upland park 

 owes its scenic charm largely to its 

 manifold glacial features and is diversi- 

 fied by cirques, canyons, lakelets, mo- 

 raines, and waterfalls. 



In the foregoing descriptions the 

 endeavor has been to make clear how 

 widely the glaciers of Mount Rainier 

 differ in character, in situation, and in 

 size. They are not to be conceived as 

 mere ice tongues radiating down the 

 slopes of the volcano from an ice cap on 



its crown. There is no ice cap, properly 

 speaking and there has perhaps never 

 been one at any time in the mountain's 

 history, not even during the glacial 

 epochs. 



Several of the main ice streams head 

 in the neves gathering about the sum- 

 mit craters, but a larger number 

 originate in profound amphitheaters 

 carved in the mountain's flanks, at levels 

 fully 4,000 feet below the summit. In 

 the general distribution of the glaciers 

 the low temperatures prevailing at high 

 altitudes have, of course, been a con- 

 trolling factor; nevertheless in many 

 instances their influence has been out- 

 balanced by topographic features favor- 

 ing local snow accumulation and by the 

 heavy snowfalls occurring on the lower 

 slopes. 



From a bulletin by F. E. Matthes. 



FIRE DANGER SERIOUS 



THE fire situation in the North- 

 west is the most serious since 

 1910, which went down in his- 

 tory as the worst year since 

 organized patrol had been in effect. So 

 far, however, no serious damage to 

 standing timber has resulted. This can 

 be attributed entirely to the organized 

 protection forces, which are giving con- 

 clusive proof of their ability to cope 

 with a bad situation. 



No rain has fallen for nearly two 

 months and the woods are extremely 

 dry. 



The worst fire of record on private 

 lands so far this year is in Lotah 

 County, Idaho. The Potlatch Timber 

 Protective Association during the first 

 part of August had a crew of from 250 

 to 800 men fighting the fire and prac- 

 tically prevented the loss of any green 

 timber. There was, however, of neces- 

 sity some loss of logging equipment. 



Up to early August most fires have 

 been in old slashings, and in the lower 

 and more thickly settled country. With 

 the opening of the hunting season, how- 

 ever, fires started in the higher areas. 



\Yhile no predictions can be made, it 

 is felt by protection agencies generally, 

 that in the absence of unusually high 

 winds or excessive temperatures during 

 August, losses can be kept dcwn to a 

 low figure. Although a large number 

 of fires have occurred in Oregon this 

 season, there has been no material loss 

 of green timber, and slight loss of log- 

 ging equipment, according to reports 

 received by the Oregon Forest Fire As- 

 sociation. Fire fighting expenses will, 

 however, be heavy in some sections. 



A considerable crew of men have 

 been constantly engaged in this work 

 since early in July. Only in two or 

 three instances have fires gotten such 

 a start as to allow of their going into 

 the tops. Great apprehension is felt 

 because of the fact that many deer 

 hunters are in the mountains. The 

 country is extremely smoky, rendering 

 many lookout points valueless. The 

 private owners of timber have some 300 

 wardens in the field and the state 

 ninety. This number is in addition to 

 the force of the Forest Service. 



An appropriation of $25,000.00 was 



