20 



FOREST FIRES 



Compensation 



of foresters, 



etc. 



1886, 296. 6. 



1897, 254, 8. 



Open air fires 



forbidden, 



when. 



1897, 254, 10. 



Expenditures 

 authorized. 

 1897, 254, 11, 

 12. 



Chief Fire 

 Warden. 



down or destroys any such notice shall be punished by a fine of ten 

 dollars. 



SECTION 23. Payment shall be made to forest firewards, to their 

 deputies, and to persons assisting them, and for property used under 

 their direction at a forest fire, at a rate prescribed by the town or, 

 in default of its action thereon, by the selectmen. No such payment 

 shall be made until an itemized account, approved by the firewards 

 under whose direction the work was done or assistance furnished, 

 shall have been filed with the officer making payment. 



SECTION 24. In a town which accepts the provisions of this sec- 

 tion or has accepted the corresponding provisions of earlier laws no 

 fire shall be set in the open air between the first day of April and 

 the first day of October, unless by the written permission of a forest 

 fireward. The fireward shall cause public notice to be given of the 

 provisions of this section, and shall enforce the same. Whoever 

 violates the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of 

 not more than one hundred dollars, to be divided equally between 

 the complainant and the town, or by imprisonment for not more 

 than one month, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 



SECTION 25. Money appropriated by a town under the provisions 

 of section seventeen of chapter twenty-five, for the prevention of 

 forest fires, and all fines received under the provisions of sections 

 twenty-one, twenty-two and twenty-four of this chapter and section 

 nine of chapter two hundred and eight shall be expended by the 

 forest fireward, under the supervision of the selectmen, in trimming 

 brush out of wood roads, in preparing and preserving suitable lines 

 for back fires or in other ways adapted to prevent or check the spread 

 of fire; or such town may expend any portion of such money in 

 taking in the name of the town such woodland as the selectmen, 

 upon the recommendation of the forester, consider expedient for the 

 purpose of preventing forest fires. Such taking and the payment of 

 damages therefor or for injury to property, other than by fire or back 

 fire, shall be governed by the laws relating to the taking of land for 

 highways. 



MINNESOTA. 



The laws were codified and slightly amended in 1905. The 

 act of 1905 is here given. 



SECTION 1. The State Auditor shall be Forest Commissioner of 

 this state and his orders shall be supreme in all matters relating to 

 the preservation of the forests of this state and to the prevention 

 and suppression of forest and prairie fires as hereinafter provided. 

 The supervisors of towns, mayors of cities and presidents of village 

 councils are hereby constituted fire wardens of their respective towns, 

 cities and villages in the state and the Chief Fire Warden may ap- 

 point as fire wardens such other persons as he may deem necessary 

 living in or near to unorganized territory in this state, whose districts, 

 to be known as fire districts, he may determine. 



SEC. 2. The aforesaid Forest Commissioner shall appoint a com- 

 petent deputy to be known as Chief Fire Warden, who, from personal 

 experience, is familiar with the conditions of the forest and methods 

 by which fires may be controlled. Said Chief Fire Warden shall 

 receive a salary of twelve hundred ($1200) dollars per year, to be 

 paid out of the amount appropriated for forest preservation, and 

 shall hold his office during the pleasure of the Forest Commissioner. 

 He shall represent the authority of the Forest Commissioner and it 



