136 OUR NATIONAL FORESTS 



ered, in order that each area on each Ranger district 

 gets just enough money for fire protection and not 

 a bit more. 



Forest Fire History. Very important also in fire 

 protection are the studies which the Forest Serv- 

 ice is carrying on, dealing with forest fire history. 

 For many years back, records have been kept on all 

 fires : their causes, area burned over, date of the fire, 

 damage caused, the exact location of each fire, the 

 cost of fighting it, the total number each month and 

 each calendar year, and many other data. More 

 recently records have been kept upon still further 

 details connected with each fire, such as: the time 

 elapsed between the start and the discovery of a fire, 

 between the discovery and the report to the proper 

 official, between the report and the beginning of the 

 actual work of fighting, and the time required to 

 put the fire out. Intensive studies have been made 

 also upon the length and character of the fire season 

 on each Forest, for it is important to know the 

 maximum length, the minimum length and the 

 average length of the fire season. These data show 

 how much extra help must be hired for fire patrol 

 and fire fighting, and during what periods the 

 greatest damage is done, based both on acreage 



