66 Our Field and Forest Trees 



important duties of the Forest Service. In trying 

 to do this work, the Service is badly hampered by 

 lack of men. Furthermore, it is hindered by the 

 need for more roads, more trails, and more tele- 

 phone lines. There are places in the national for- 

 ests where it is difficult to get through the tangled 

 growth and over the uneven ground on foot, even 

 when no hurrying is necessary. How then can a 

 man get through at full speed, bringing with him 

 the tools needed to fight a fire? Sometimes this 

 need for more trails becomes the cause of a ter- 

 rible conflagration. A fire in Montana, for in- 

 stance, was noticed and located by a forest ranger 

 an hour after the first smoke arose. His way to 

 it, however, was so difficult that he spent two days 

 struggling to reach the fire, carrying his supplies 

 on his back. Meantime the flames had grown 

 beyond his control. He had to go over a difficult 

 country for help, and that took two days more. 

 Another day passed while a fire-fighting crew — 

 which now must be a large one — gathered to- 

 gether. The fire-fighters were obliged to cut a 

 rough trail before they could bring their equip- 

 ment through the woods, and this work took four 

 days more. So nine days intervened between the 

 rising of the first smoke and the time when the 

 real fight with fire could begin. With good trails, 

 the ranger could have reached the fire eight or 

 ten hours after it started — in time perhaps to 

 conquer it single-handed. 



