PROTECTION 127 



which swept northern Idaho and western Mon- 

 tana destroyed millions of dollars' worth of timber 

 and 85 human lives, and cost the United States 

 $839,000 for fire fighting. These were timber fires 

 and they occurred for the most part in valuable 

 stands of dense timber. 



The forest fire losses on the National Forests for 

 the last 9 years show a very great and gradual 

 reduction of losses due to forest fires. In 1908, the 

 total loss through fires was $451,188 and in 1909 

 it was $297,275. In 1910, the year of the great 

 fires in Montana and Idaho, there were very heavy 

 losses in timber and human lives, due to an unusual 

 combination of dry weather and high winds. But 

 in that year the fire organization was not complete ; 

 it had never really been tried out. In this year the 

 organization received its first severe test, and while 

 it did the best it could with the available men and 

 equipment, the situation in Idaho pointed out con- 

 clusively the weak points and the short-comings. 

 The proof of these statements is found in the statis- 

 tics of the next 5 years, when the average total loss 

 for 1911 to 1915, inclusive, was $293,000, and, it 

 must be remembered, several of these years were 

 equally as unfavorable, so far as dry weather and 



