66 



disturbs the "balance, the plant vegetation of Calif- 

 ornia will tend to revert to the brushy types. The 

 extensive brushy areas within the state at the present 

 time show what continued surface fires will do. It 

 must be borne in mind that this region is not a nat- 

 ural tree region, but one in which brush competes strong- 

 ly with the trees. Fire disturbs the balance in favor 

 of the brush. 



Costs 



The excessive costs alone, incurred in Light Burn- 

 ing are sufficient to render it impracticable. To con- 

 struct fire lines at close intervals, to scatter debris 

 which is at the bases of the trees, and maintain a crew 

 of men sufficient to adequately patrol the fires, will 

 amount to a considerable cost item for the very first 

 burning. Then, as burning must be engaged in for at 

 least three successive years in most cases, and there- 

 after at intervals of 3-5 years, in order to keep the 

 inflammable debris of such limited extent that a dam- 

 aging fire cannot occur, the cost per acre will be ex- 

 cessive. There follows, herewith, a table showing com- 

 parative costs of fire protection methods in California. 



