PROTECTION 135 



or the degree to which an area is subject to fire 

 danger, the difficulty of prevention and control and 

 many other factors. These same factors are em- 

 ployed to apportion the Supervisor's allotment of 

 money to the various Ranger districts on his Forest. 

 Probably the most difficult factors for the Forest 

 Supervisor to appraise on each Ranger district are 

 the fire liability and the fire hazard. Fire liability 

 has to do with the amount of damage a fire could 

 do if it got started. Valuable timber needs pro- 

 tection most of all, and the value of the forest is 

 determined by the kind of trees in it and the den- 

 sity of the stand. Fire hazard is usually expressed 

 in terms of risk. The Supervisor asks his Ranger if 

 the risk on a certain area in his district is high, low, 

 or medium. Risk depends, of course, largely upon 

 the character and inflammability of the forest cover 

 and the presence of human causes. Dense forests 

 involve greater risk than open, scattering trees; 

 government forests interspersed with private hold- 

 ings containing much old slash have a high risk 

 factor ; and government forests near sawmills, large 

 towns, and along railroad rights-of-way also have 

 high risk factors. All these matters must be consid- 



