THE FIGHT AGAINST FOREST FIRES 



677 



different portions without roads and 

 trails (see photos, pages 672 and 673). 



A fire started by hghtning or other 

 causes in a remote place may be practi- 

 cally inaccessible, requiring two or three 

 days to reach it. By that time the fire 

 may have attained proportions which 

 necessitate a terrific fight with perhaps a 

 force of several hundred men before it 

 can be subdued. Trails are therefore 

 absolutely necessary, both in order that 

 the forest guards can adecjuately patrol 

 the forest and in order tlmt men, equip- 

 ment, and supplies can be transported 

 quickly to all parts of the forest in case 

 of need. 



Such a system of trails is being built 

 in the national forests as rapidly as funds 

 are available. - Already nearly 10,000 

 miles have been constructed. There are 

 required, however, fully 80,000 miles 

 more in order to establish the first skele- 

 ton system of trails. This will be equiva- 

 lent to about 10 miles of trail for every 

 towmship of 36 square miles. 



In the long run a much more exten- 

 sive development of trails will be rc- 

 cjuired ; but this primary system is abso- 

 lutely necessary before it will be possible 

 to really gain adequate mastery over 

 forest fires. 



TELEPHONES AND LOOKOUT STATIONS 



The distances in the national forests 

 are so enormous that, in addition to the 

 roads and trails, there must also be a sys- 

 tem of telephone lines. The Forest 

 Service has already built about 7,000 

 miles of telephone line, but about 45,000 

 miles more are recjuired to complete the 

 primary system of control. These tele- 

 phone lines enable instant communica- 

 tion between the headquarters of the for- 

 est supervisors and the rangers and also 

 connect with the lookout stations. There 

 has recently been developed a portable 

 telephone set, which is carried by the 

 patrolmen, so that they can tap a line at 

 any point and report a forest fire to 

 headquarters without having to take the 

 time to go to a ranger station or other 

 central point. 



Still another very important develop- 

 ment for fire prevention is the establish- 

 ment of lookout stations. In the moun- 

 tains advantage is taken of prominent 



peaks which command a view of an ex- 

 tensive area. An equipment is provided 

 which enables the watchman to locate 

 fires quickly. There is usually a firmly 

 mounted table, on which may be placed 

 a map of the surrounding region. A 

 telescopic or simple alidade enables the 

 watchman to sight a fire and at the same 

 time to determine on the map its precise 

 direction from the lookout station. 



The watchman is always a man fully 

 acquainted with the region and is usually 

 able to determine on what watershed the 

 fire is located. He immediately tele- 

 phones to the ranger station nearest the 

 fire, and a man or men are dispatched to 

 put it out. Usually there are two or 

 more lookout stations on a forest. When 

 a fire may be seen from two stations in 

 communication with each other its pre- 

 cise location can be fixed. 



Where the topography is such that 

 high points or natural lookout stations 

 cannot be found, high towers are built ; 

 in some instances of rough poles ; in 

 other cases of lumber, and recently many 

 steel towers have been constructed. 



During the past season fires on the 

 national forests have been located from 

 lookout stations as far away as 50 miles, 

 and as a result of the quick reporting of 

 the location the fires have been promptly 

 extinguished. 



Still another means for fire prevent) )n 

 is the fire line. A dirt road is the best 

 possible fire line, but general road con- 

 struction must follow after the construc- 

 tion of trails and telephone lines. It is 

 expensive work and not so immediately 

 essential as the other development. In 

 many instances, however, it is necessary 

 to construct at once fire lines from which 

 all small growth and inflammable ma- 

 terial down to the mineral soil is re- 

 moved. Some 500 or 600 miles of such 

 fire lines have been built on the national 

 forests. 



One of the very important classes of 

 improvements in a large forest is the 

 ranger stations, which are well located 

 with respect not only to the conduct of 

 business in the forest but to fire protec- 

 tion. Many serious fires have been pre- 

 vented because they were within strik- 

 ing distance of the ranger station. 



With all this permanent improvement 



