1382 



Canadian Forestry Journal, November, 1917 



Some Causes of 1917 Timber Losses 



The Preventable List Continues to Loom Large. 

 British Columbia's Fire Damage Summarized. 



As fire protection systems become 

 more thorough, it will be possible 

 to learn more accurately the causes 

 of the annual series of forest fires. 

 Already the gathering of data is fairly 

 thorough in many sections of the 

 country, but taking Canada's forest 

 areas as a whole it is impossible at the 

 present time to compile statistics of 

 fire loss of more than approximate 

 reliability, or with more than a partial 

 listing of the causes. The ascertain- 

 ing of causes is of the highest im.- 

 portance in fixing responsibility and 

 directing educational efforts towards 

 prevention. 



The Forestry Journal is able this 

 month to present the statistical rec- 

 ord of British Columbia's 1917 forest 

 fire experience, the figures of which 

 while not final are approximately 

 correct: 



Total Fires in Province during 1917 — 

 930. 



Fires upon which extra help was em- 

 ployed — 345. 



Total area burned over — 211,455 

 acres. 



Area of merchantable timber dam- 

 aged— 89,000 acres. 



Amount merchantable timber dam- 

 aged— 213,360,000 F.B.M. 



Amount of merchantable timber salv- 

 able— 38,933,000 F.B.M. 



Losses in: 



Merchantable timber $178,401 



Valuable reproduction 6,563 



Standing timber on old burns 



and cut over lands 125 



Damage to stock range 6,075 



Forest products, buildings, 

 railway and logging equip- 

 ment etc 182,004 



Total Losses $373,168 



Lives lost fire fighting — 8. 

 Horses lost — 11 (in one fire). 

 Prosecutions for infringement of pro- 

 visions of fire law 8, convictions 6, 



cases dismissed 2. 



As to the causes, the Journal has 

 not yet received official information. 

 Local reports and the statements of 

 some of the District Foresters assign 

 definite origins for some of the worst 

 conflagrations as follows: 



Spruce Valley fire: — Dropping light 

 ed tobacco on the floor of a tent; 

 also the presence of a heavy lumber- 

 ing slash. 



Kalamalka Lake fire: — An unex- 

 tinguished camp fire left by a fishing 

 party. 



Crows Nest Valley fire: — Heavy 

 debris in neighborhood of mill which 

 caught flying sparks. 



In the territory of the St. Maurice 

 Forest Protective Association, Que- 

 bec, (about 12,000 square miles), 217 

 fires occurred in 1917, of which no 

 fewer than 122 were set by railway 

 locomotives. Mr. Henry Sargins, the 

 manager, gives the following origins: 



Railways 122 



Sectionmen 4 



Unknown 38 



La Loutre Dam. Const 26 



Drivers 5 



Constructionmen 8 



Fishermen 8 



Settler 4 



Jobbers 2 



Total 217 



It will be noted that the settler, 

 recently the most prolific source of 

 forest damage, has dropped to second 

 to last place in the list. This is a 

 fine tribute, indeed, to the success 

 in applying the "permit law" for the 

 setting out of land clearing fires. 

 While the St. Maurice association 

 commenced its career with a number 

 of prosecutions and convictions of 

 settlers for causing fires (and these 

 doubtless, were salutory) it has direct- 

 ed its main effort towards winning the 

 good will and co-operation of the 



