64 THE NATIONAL FOKEST MANUAL. 



it may nullify all attempts at the practice of forest management, ^uch as the 

 regulation of cutting to insure a second crop of timber, the planting of denuded 

 areas, and the restriction of grazing to assist regeneration. 



There is probably no other forest area where the danger of fire is greater 

 than on the National Forests. This is due to their comparative inaccessibility, 

 to climatic conditions, to the sparseness of population, and to the constant use 

 of fire in the daily life of the people and in the industries. 



The protection of the Forests from fire is, therefore, of paramount irni>or- 

 tance, and the most careful and systematic study must be given to the problem 

 of affording the greatest protection at the lowest cost. 



What Governs Protection. 



Fire protection involves a consideration of (1) the fire liability or the damage 

 which may result; (2) the fire hazard or the degree to which the forest is 

 subject to fire danger; (3) the difficulty and cost of prevention and control. 



METHODS OF FIRE PROTECTION. 



Measures for Protection. 



Measures for fire prevention and control may be grouped under four heads: 

 (1) Those to lessen the fire liability; (2) those to reduce the fire hazard; 

 (3) those to decrease the cost and difficulty of discovering and controlling 

 fires; and (4) those to secure promptness and efficiency in actual fire fighting. 



Under the first head would be included the disposal of valuable timber exposed 

 to very great fire hazard; under the second, the encouragement of grazing to 

 remove inflammable undergrowth or to keep down grass and the removal of 

 slash or brush piles; also the education of the public in the safe use or avoid- 

 ance of fire, the enforcement of preventive laws and regulations, and the gen- 

 eral surrounding of the use and occupancy of the Forests with proper safe- 

 guards. The third classification should include the construction of complete 

 systems of communication, transportation, lookouts, and firebreaks; the prepa- 

 ration of accurate maps to show the conditions which affect the fire problem ; 

 and the apportionment of equipment and supplies. The fourth classification 

 covers agreements with other organizations or industries which would be 

 involved in fire losses, to report and extinguish fires which they discover; also 

 the employment or assignment of men for patrol duty and arrangements to 

 secure labor, supplies, and equipment in anticipation of fire fighting. 



THE FIRE PLAN. 



To insure the adoption of every practicable means for protecting the forest 

 property from fire, a systematic study of the conditions on every Forest is 

 necessary. The complete fire plan resulting from this study is simply a descrip- 

 tion of the fire liability and hazard and of every means which have been or 

 may be taken to meet any emergency which may arise. The fire plan will be 

 prepared by the supervisor and in the light of experience will be modified and 

 strengthened at the close of each fire season. 



It is impossible to prepare one standard plan which will meet the local con- 

 ditions on all National Forests. Therefore the instructions which follow should 

 serve only as a general guide to the supervisors, who should have the widest 

 latitude in developing the details of the plan to meet their peculiar needs. 



Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Expense. 



No supervisor should consider his fire plan complete until he has considered 

 every possible means by which the fire liability and hazard and the cost and 

 difficulty of suppression may be reduced, or until he has evolved a system 

 which will, at the minimum expense, afford the maximum protection which the 

 conditions demand. 



Collection of Information. 



Complete information is a prerequisite to the formulation of a perfect fire 

 plan. This information will not be obtained until the entire Forest has been 

 covered by intensive reconnaissance; and since it will be many years before this 

 information will be fully available, the first draft of the fire plan must be 

 prepared from such maps and data as are at hand. 



Maps. 



Of first importance is a topographic map which shows accurately the cover 

 and cultivation; means of communication and transportation; location of settle- 



