FOREST FIRES 



PART I. INTRODUCTION 



Fire is the greatest enemy of the forest. Protection from 

 fire is one of the fundamental conditions which must exist 

 before forestry can be successfully practised. 



How FIRE INJURES THE FOREST 



There are many ways in which fire injures a forest. Some 

 of these are well known and fully appreciated, but several 

 of the most important are not usually considered when the 

 cost of a fire is estimated. 



First, a fire may kill the standing timber. This is always 

 the case when a top or crown fire occurs. In some cases such 

 fire-killed timber may be cut and utilized; but, as a rule, 

 fire-killed timber does not bring a good price on the market, 

 and only a part of the loss can be covered by its sale. 



Second, a light fire may run through a stand and kill a 

 tree only here and there. In this case the damage is not so 

 apparent as when all the trees in the stand are killed. But 

 a close examination of a woodlot through which a light sur- 

 face fire has gone always reveals the fact that the other trees, 

 although they are not killed, do not escape without injury. 

 The injury may take several forms. It may be a slight 

 scorching of the trunk, or that portion of the root system 

 which is near the surface of the ground may be damaged. 

 Sometimes the injured trees die later on, because, in this 

 weakened condition, they are no longer able to withstand 

 the attacks of insects and fungi, for which the injuries to 

 the bark have made convenient points of entry. 



Third, the vegetable part of the soil which is known as 

 humus is consumed by a forest fire, as well as the leaves and 

 other litter, the decomposition of which would make a future 



