PROTECTION 145 



must be an elastic one, adequate to meet the needs 

 of a Ranger district or of a whole National Forest, 

 or, in some cases, of an entire administrative dis- 

 trict, comprising as many as 25 to 30 National 

 Forests. The Forest Guards and Forest Rangers 

 are known as the first line of defense in this war 

 against forest fires. Upon them falls the brunt of 

 the work of fire suppression. The second line is 

 composed of local stockmen, ranchers, and logging 

 and sawmill crews. When these prove insufficient 

 in number, the large villages and towns are called 

 upon, and the last resort is the labor of the cities 

 and the United States Army. Thus, in the case of 

 a very large fire the organization of the Forest 

 Service is modified to cover not only each and every 

 National Forest, but also entire States. In case of 

 a very large fire, every available man from each 

 Forest is sent to take his place in the organization. 

 Expert fire fighters are sent direct to the fire. 

 Other Forest officers are sent to the large towns and 

 villages to act as quartermasters. These men hire 

 fire fighters, entrain them, and fill orders for food, 

 bedding, tools, and other equipment. Other quar- 

 termasters at the scene of the fire check shipments 

 of supplies, check the time of fire fighters, approve 



