PROTECTION 125 



motives sending out sparks through the smoke- 

 stack or dropping hot ashes along the right-of-way. 

 These sparks alight in inflammable material, such 

 as dry grass and leaves, and start a fire. Light- 

 ning sets fire to trees, especially dead and dry ones. 

 In the California mountains, lightning storms with- 

 out rain are frequent and these do great damage. 

 The author has seen as many as nine forest fires 

 started by a single lightning storm inside of 

 half an hour. Incendiary fires are set by people 

 with varying intent. How many are set with 

 malicious intent, just to see the forests burn, is not 

 known, but many fires are started by people setting 

 fires to drive game, to improve the pasture, to make 

 traveling through the woods easier, or for other 

 reasons. Brush burning includes those fires which 

 start from settlers clearing land and burning the 

 brush and thickets. Campers cause a large per- 

 centage of the fires by leaving their camp fires 

 burning. Instead of extinguishing them before 

 they leave camp, careless people let them burn; 

 a wind blows a few sparks into some dry leaves or 

 grass nearby, and the fire is started. Many forest 

 fires also start around logging camps by sparks es- 

 caping from logging engines, or by setting fire to 



