128 



Canadian Forcsfnj Journal, July, 1915 



Forest Fire Situation 



Good rainfall through latter part of June and most of July — 



Rangers defeat incipient blazes 



Keports received by the Canadian 

 Forestry Journal from all sections of 

 Canada up to the middle of July indi- 

 cate that the situation in respect to 

 forest tires is most favourable. Out- 

 breaks there have been during June 

 and July but in the patrolled acres 

 prompt action by rangers isolated the 

 destruction and held down the loss to 

 small dimensions. June 8th seems to 

 have marked about the last of the 

 dangerous fires in Northern Ontario 

 and Quebec although many small tires 

 since that thne have been dealt Avith. 

 The rainfall has been uniformly good. 



Detailed reports of tires occurring 

 in the Prairie Provinces this spring 

 and early summer have come in. 

 These declare that the most serious 

 tire danger was experienced during 

 during the period from the middle of 

 ]May to the fourth of June. Rain fol- 

 low^ed by snow came on the latter date 

 and put out all the fires then burn- 

 ing. The weather since has been 

 pretty wet all over the West so that 

 there have been practically no out- 

 breaks. The dangerous season in the 

 latter part of iVIay was due not only 

 to lack of rain during the spring but 

 also to a dry fall the previous year 

 followed by a winter Avith exception- 

 ally light snow fall, so that the 

 swamps and smaller creeks were all 

 dry and fire could run unimpeded in 

 any direction and w^as very difficult 

 to put out. A large number of men 

 were employed on the larger fires and 

 consequently the damage was not any 

 niore extensive than has been experi- 

 enced in several dry seasons in the 

 past. Moreover the fire danger was 

 confined mainly to Manitoba and Sas- 

 katchewan. The weather conditions 

 in Alberta were rain v. 



AT THE PACIFIC COAST. 



Victoria, B.C., July 8. — Advices 

 reaching the Minister of Lands con- 

 cerning the fire situation throughout 

 the Province are for the present sat- 

 isfactory, although the immediate 

 prospects, unless rain falls, are rather 

 ominous in certain sections. 



During the early part of the past 

 week rain fell in the Hazelton, Nelson, 

 Cranbrook. Vernon and Kamloops 

 districts, as well as in the eastern sec- 

 tion of the Fort George division, fol- 

 lowed, however, by clear, warm wea- 

 ther, with resulting increase in the 

 fire hazard. In the Tete Jaune dis- 

 trict, conditions are reported as being 

 reasonably safe, in view of the hot, 

 dry, Avindy weather. 



The prevailing heat, accompanied 

 by a clear atmosphere and wind, with 

 resultant drying out of vegetation, 

 has been responsible for several fires 

 in the Coast districts, outbreaks being 

 reported at North Vancouver, Lang- 

 ley, Delta, Cheakamus, Half IMoon 

 Bay, Texada Island, Toba Inlet, 

 Thurlow Island, Green Point Rapids, 

 and Loughboro Inlet, the area burn- 

 ed over being approximately one 

 thousand acres, principally slashings, 

 and the damage to merchantable tim- 

 ber fortunately small. 



Four fires, all under control, have 

 occurred in the Island district, two 

 of which were at Parksville, and a 

 third at Courtenay. 



The satisfactory conditions which 

 have hitherto prevailed this year have 

 lieen merely normal, and it is at this 

 time and under the climatic condi- 

 tions at present prevailing that the 

 highly dangerous stage is reached, 

 attended by risk to life and property. 



