THE FORESTER. 



185 



There were relatively few large fires during the fiscal year on the 

 National Forests elsewhere than in the northern Rocky Mountains 

 and Pacific Coast States, although unfavorable conditions were wide- 

 spread. In the last six months of the calendar year 1918, after an 

 an early summer fire season of unusual danger in all parts of the 

 West, except in Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota, where light 

 rains fell with sufficient frequency to mitigate the drought, the situa- 

 tion improved materially as the season advanced. The fall rains 

 generally set in early; and in the Southwest, where the fire danger 

 occurs in two distinct seasons, one in the spring and early summer 

 and one in the fall, the fall fire season was of short duration, with 

 good showers at frequent intervals. In southern California condi- 

 tions were threatening until late in the fall, but throughout the 

 State the fires of the latter part of the calendar year 1918, were well 

 controlled. Especially notable was the reduction in the number of 

 man-caused fires in California which followed a vigorous campaign of 

 public education waged by the Forest Service in cooperation with 

 State and other public agencies. In Minnesota no large fires burned 

 on the National Forests, in conspicuous contrast with what happened 

 in other parts of the State. In the southern Appalachian Forests the 

 climatic conditions during the fall were less favorable than normally, 

 but only one large fire occurred; this was on the Shenandoah, m 

 October. 



The following table gives certain statistics regarding the 1918 

 fires. The total number, 5,573, shows a reduction of 2,241 from 

 the number which occurred in the previous calendar year. The 

 area of National Forest lands burned over was 694,651 acres, as 

 against 962,543 in 1917; the estimated damage on these lands was 

 $688,332, as against $1,358,627; ard the total cost of fire fighting 

 was $714,009.63, as against $1,121,451. 



Fires on National Forests, calendar year 1918. 



Of the 110 fires listed above as having burned over an area of 10 

 acres and more with damage in excess of $1, 000, 35 were in Idaho, 

 30 in Oregon, 14 in Washington, and 12 in California. In total 

 number of fires of all classes California came first, with 1,148, fol- 

 lowed by Idaho with 832, Oregon with 775, Montana with 573, and 

 Washington with 563. Seventy per cent of all the fires occurred in 

 these five States. 



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