16 FOREST FIRES IX XORTH CAROLIXA. 



The above table was prepared from the Federal Forest Examiners' 

 annual reports. It shows the number of fires of different classes occur- 

 ring within the Federal Purchase Areas in 1914 and the amount of 

 Xational forest land burnt over. 



It will be seen that only six fires occurred on the Xational Forest lauds 

 in Xorth Carolina. The rest probably threatened the GoA^ernment lands, 

 but were extinguished before they crossed onto them. These six fires 

 burnt over only 372 acres, or an average area for each fire of 62 acres. 



RESULTS OF PARTIAL PROTECTIOX. 



Through the cooperation of the Federal Forest officials in western 

 Xorth Carolina accurate information in regard to forest fires in twenty 

 townships or parts of townships surrounding the JSTational Forests was 

 supplied and it is incorporated with all the foregoing tables except the 

 last. Because of the comparative completeness of this information, and 

 in view of the fact that efficient fire protection was practiced over parts 

 of the townships in question, these auxiliary reports have also been com- 

 piled by themselves to show the result of partial fire protection. 



The Government lands lying within these townships are thoroughly 

 j)atrolled, and only six fires occurred on them, as shown in Table 8. Pri- 

 vate land within the !N"ational Forests or outside the forests but within 

 the purchase area5, namely, within the limits set by the Government 

 for making further additions to the National Forests, are not patrolled, 

 but forest officers usually assist in extinguishing fires, especially if Fed- 

 eral lands, or lands which have been offered to the Government, are 

 threatened. There were thirty-nine such fires reported in 1914. The 

 remaining thirty-five fires included in Table 9 probably occurred beyond 

 the Government rangers' field of duty, and so were extinguished in the 

 ordinary way, namely, b}^ private citizens, by rain, or by burning them- 

 selves out. The following table, therefore, shows the results of partial 

 protection in the comparison of these figures Avith the average ones for 

 the mountain region found in Table 6. 



Table 9.-GENERAL FIRE DAMAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS DURING THE PAST SIX YEARS 

 COMPARED WITH THAT IN PARTIALLY PROTECTED TOWNSHIPS. 



Average damage by each fire $ 514.00 S 1,112.00 



Average damage per acre burnt - 3.46 1.50 



Average cost of fighting fires, per fire 11.00 35.00 



