-(> POTLATCH TIMBER PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION 



out and the brush and logs thrown both to and from the fire, 

 according to the general slope and condition of the area, so that 

 it would lessen the danger of the fire jumping the trenches. The 

 trenches were from two and one-half to four feet wide and dug 

 deep in the soil, and as a general rule the dirt thrown toward the 

 fire. I have been unable to learn of any back firing being done in 

 connection with this fire. Considerable work was done in cut- 

 ting and banking snags inside the fire line after its completion. 

 The organization on the fire line consisted of crews from the 

 various camps in charge of their camp foremen and several other 

 crews were in charge of the patrolmen of the Potlatch Timber 

 Protective Association. The various crews ranged from forty to 

 two hundred men each. Each crew was provided with several straw 

 bosses, and each straw boss was directly in charge of from twenty 

 to thirty men. On the completion of the trenches the number 

 of men left to patrol them depended entirely upon the location, the 

 danger of the fire at that point and the weather conditions on that 

 particular day. 



One thing which was very noticeable in the patrolling of the 

 fire, and which worked out to a very good advantage was the 

 distribution of the men from one camp as patrolmen. This par- 

 ticular crew consisted almost entirely of American laborers, and 

 it was felt by the men in charge that these men were much more 

 responsible for this work than the majority of the foreign laborers 

 employed on the fire. 



The resources at stake on the adjoining areas were very 

 large. It is estimated that if this fire had been allowed to run, or 

 if prompt action had not been taken to control it, at least two 

 billion feet of timber would have been destroyed, since this is 

 the most heavily timbered district in Idaho. The major portion 

 of it is very accessible. The loss in timber actually burned in this 

 fire is very low and no doubt the greater part of the timber killed 

 by fire will be logged with but small loss and the most appreciable 

 loss was to the Potlatch Lumber Company of approximately four 

 million feet of cut logs. 



In going over this fire area and the operations of the Pot- 

 latch Lumber Company on the area itself and adjoining it, it is 

 my opinion that this fire was handled in a very efficient manner. 

 With their logging organization on the ground, backed up by 

 the transportation facilities at hand, by their well organized and 

 efficient commissary and from the fact that they can draw on their 

 various other camps in the near vicinity and their mill forces at 

 Potlatch and Elk River, the Potlatch Lumber Company is un- 



