CauuhIuiu Foicsirij Journal, November, 1918 



loi; 



know the best means of savint> them- 

 selves, — many of them being new to 

 the woods. One of these fires swept 

 through an Indian reservation, but 

 the Indians were able to take care 

 of themselves and not one was lost. 

 Prompt and vigorous action on the 

 part of the rangers undoubtedly 

 prevented several fires from becoming 

 disastrous, and many people owe 

 their lives to warnings and help given 

 by forest officers. 



Fire Hazard Increased. 



\\'hilc the first im])ression is likely 

 that devastating fires such as these 

 hasten land clearing and develop- 

 ment, observations and facts point 

 strongly the other way. Foresters 

 do not ask that their opinions in this 

 respect be taken without further 

 proof, but welcome a thorough in- 

 vestigation to determine exactly what 

 has taken place on the scenes of 

 great conflagrations. Moreover, it 

 is a fact that devastating fires do not 

 remove the fire danger, but frequently 

 render the burned area more subject 

 to dangerous fires. If clearing fol- 

 lowed immediately after the fire, 

 there might be some advantage; 

 but settlers are seldom able to under- 

 take land clearing on a large scale. 

 A forest fire does not consume much 

 of the standing timber or stumps. 

 Within three years after a fire, the 

 dead trees are worthless, mostly 

 blown down, and in excellent con- 

 dition for further fires, which by 

 that time would be fed by a growth 

 of grass, weeds and brush. Any one 

 who realizes what this means would 

 be remiss in his duty if he failed to 

 give warning of the fire hazard. 

 Law and Enforcement. 



The lack of a large enough force 

 of men trained in fire prevention 

 work is the chief cause of the calami- 

 ty. It was against the law for people 

 to set fires during this period. It is 

 against the law to run locomotives or 

 threshing rigs that set fires. It is 

 against the law for people to ride along 

 highways throwing burning cigars, 

 cigarettes or matches into the dry 

 timber alongside. It is against the law 

 to do a great many things, but a law 

 in itself is of little value unless the 



machinery for its enforcement is 

 provided. What is one policeman 

 (forest officer) to seven hundred or 

 twelve hundred square miles) or 

 twenty to fifty townships? 



The exceptional droutii of the 

 present as well as last year was 

 another factor of importance. It 

 was on account of it that the Forester 

 asked for an order which was issued 

 by the Commission of Public Safety 

 declaring a closed season on burning. 

 This order covered the spring and 

 fall seasons of 1917, and was renewed 

 to cover the spring, summer and fall 

 seasons of 1918. These orders were 

 widely published and conspicuously 

 posted in all directions, but in spite 

 of this precaution and the convictions 

 secured under the order, and beca\ise 

 of inadequate forces to police the 

 forested areas, fires developed faster 

 than they could be extinguished and 

 the guilty parties brought to justice. 

 Over-drainage, a Cause 



The feeling that big fires will occur 

 anyway and that it is futile to fight 

 them is a contributing cause of them, 

 and comes from lax reasoning. Fires 

 are not necessary, nor are they un- 

 avoidable. A conflagration arises 

 from a small fire allowed to attain 

 large proportions, or a group of 

 small fires when circumstances like 

 wind and drouth are favorable. 



In recent years many millions of 

 dollars have been expended in par- 

 tially draining swamp lands far in 

 advance of settlement. In the ab- 

 sence of control-gates in the ditches, 

 this has resulted in over-drainage, as 

 we have repeatedly protested, and 

 greatly increased the fire risk and 

 waste of timber and soil. As a 

 result, there are thousands of miles of 

 drainage ditches that have made the 

 worst kind of fire traps and the fires 

 in them are most difficult to handle. 

 Logging Dangers 



There has been insufficient control 

 of logging operations, and this too 

 has proved a difficult factor in fire 

 prevention work. 



The unregulated scattered settle- 

 ment of land constitutes not only a 

 needless hazard to human life but a 

 waste of man power. Had the set- 

 tlers in the burned districts been con- 



