THE FIGHT AGAINST FOREST FIRES 



679 



work done, it is then necessary that there 

 be ample equipment to meet emergen- 

 cies — fire-fighting tools, such as grub- 

 hoes, axes, rakes, pails — and such other 

 material as the special conditions of a 

 given forest require. This equipment 

 must be located where it will be most 

 useful — at ranger stations and in special 

 boxes located at convenient places. 



It is, further, most essential that there 

 be provision for the transportation of 

 men and supplies in case of fire. In 

 some cases where there are no roads and 

 transportation is entirely by trail it is 

 necessary to equip a forest with a pack 

 train. Elsewhere arrangements are made 

 in advance to hire such transportation 

 as is needed when occasion arises. 



The key-note in fire prevention is 

 preparation. This applies not only to 

 the development and equipment of the 

 forest, but also to the organization of 

 the protective force. The great diffi- 

 culty in the national forests has been that 

 the appropriations have not been large 

 enough to permit the employment of 

 enough guards and patrolmen. 



At present the average area in charge 

 of a single man is about 100,000 acres. 

 In some cases of very valuable timber it 

 has been possible to place one guard to 

 each 30,000 acres. A single patrolman 

 should not have to cover over 10,000 

 acres when the timber is heavy and valu- 

 able. Elsewhere one man to 20,000 or 

 25,000 acres may be sufficient if the for- 

 est is equipped with trails, telephones, 

 and other improvements. 



The Forest Service has been able to 

 accomplish what it has only through the 

 most careful organization and the effi- 

 cient and loyal service of its rangers. 

 Careful fire plans are prepared which 

 provide in advance for the placing of 

 the patrol, the coordination of the differ- 

 ent patrolmen, the distribution of fire- 

 fighting equipment, the securing of men 

 and supplies and their transportation in 

 case of fire, and all other matters which 

 are needed in an emergency. 



the; practice of frequent burning oe 

 the woods very injurious 



It has been the practice in some sec- 

 tions of the country to burn over the 



forest every year or two on the theory 

 that light annual fires are beneficial ni 

 preventing the accumulation of inflam- 

 mable debris, which if allowed to gather 

 in quantity might cause fires of great 

 proportions. 



This practice of frequent burning of 

 the woods has been particularly preva- 

 lent in the forests of the southeast and 

 in certain sections in California. It has 

 been stoutly maintained by some lum- 

 bermen that this is the proper method 

 of forest protection. These men point to 

 the fact that trees of certain species 

 have a thick corky bark which resists a 

 light surface fire. Hence, it is main- 

 tained, the valuable timber is protected 

 from fire, whereas if a thick leaf- litter 

 is permitted to gather and young pine 

 trees to spring up a single fire would 

 burn with such severity as to kill the old 

 timber. 



Of course, the advocates of this theory 

 are interested only in the protection of 

 the mature timber, and have no interest 

 in the protection of the immature trees, 

 or the promotion of a new crop after the 

 first is removed. It is obvious that the 

 repeated burning of the forest destroys 

 the young trees and altogether prevents 

 any new reproduction. The doctrine con- 

 sists, therefore, of protecting a limited 

 number of mature trees by destroying 

 all the young ones. When the old trees 

 are finally cut nothing but a barren waste 

 is left (see page 683). 



This process of ultimate destruction 

 of the forest is illustrated in many parts 

 of those forests where the practice of 

 annual or periodic firing of the woods 

 has been in vogue. The insistent pro- 

 mulgation of this dangerous doctrine by 

 certain lumbermen in California has acted 

 as a real obstacle to retard the establish- 

 ment of effective forest protection in that 

 State and stands out in sharp contrast to 

 the progressive attitude of the lumber- 

 men of the Pacific Northwest. 



THE STATES AND PRIVATE OWNERS 

 COOPERATING 



Following the methods used by the 

 government, many large owners of tim- 

 ber lands are now undertaking to pro- 

 tect their property from fire. In the 



