Surface fires creep along the surface of the ground 

 burning in the debris which lies there, eating down in- 

 to the duff Bomewhat, and attacking shrubs and small 

 seedlings which are at hand. It is with this type of 

 fire that the question of Li git Burning has entirely to 

 do. Whether or not surface fires should be permitted 

 in the forest is in brief the sum and substance of the 

 point at issue in the Light Burning controversy. 



The last type of forest fire is the crown fire, 

 which envelopes entire trees. This type of fire is 

 usually the result of a surface fire which has been 

 fanned into huge proportions by a strong wind. Once 

 a crown fire gets started, and with a breeze blowing, 

 it progresses with great rapidity by jumping from tree 

 to tree. Although extremely dangerous, crown fires are 

 rare in the forests of California because the stands 

 are open in character. Local crown fires, however, - 

 those occurring in dense clumps - are quite common. 



Causes of Fire 



The fire season and the kinds of fires having 

 been discussed, the next step is to learn the ca.uBes 

 of the fires, and the possibility of their elimination. 



The s.gencies causing fire within the forest may 

 be divided into two groups - atmospheric agencies and 

 human .agencies. Fires due to atmospheric conditions 

 are those caused by lightning, and a great many are 



