84 Third Annual Report of the 



Protective Measures 



During the major portion of the past season there has been 

 maintained a force of live district rangers, sixty-four rangers and 

 forty-nine mountain station observers, together with six railroad 

 inspectors. This protective force was inaugurated in 1009, after 

 the disastrous fires of the previous year. It is fair to say that 

 the past summer has, on account of the deficiency in rainfall, 

 been fully as dry as that of 1908. Inasmuch as reduction of 

 rainfall produces drought, and results in dryness of material upon 

 the ground causing increased fire danger, 'fires are very readily 

 ignited. The past year was, therefore, the first one in which this 

 system has been put to the supreme test. The damage caused by 

 the fires of 1903 was $864,082; during 1908, $802,135, while 

 the past season, under similar conditions, was but $51,445. The 

 area burned in 1903 was 464,189 acres; in 1908, 368,072 acres; 

 in 1913, 54,796 acres. A comparison of these figures under 

 similar conditions of drought clearly demonstrates the wisdom of 

 the change in the system, the success, and, furthermore, the 

 efficiency of the present force. The change has not only resulted 

 in reducing the acreage burned 85 per cent, and a reduction of 

 94 per cent, in damage, but furthermore the cost of extinguishing 

 the fires in 1908 was $189,660, while during the present season 

 the entire cost of the ranger force, including salaries and ex- 

 penses, together with disbursements for extinguishing the fires, 

 aggregated only $96,122.53. The expense of this work will be 

 further reduced by rebates of $21,601.60 from the towns. All 

 of this was accomplished in spite of the fact that the number of 

 reported fires increased from 605 in 1908 to 688 during the past 

 season. (In 1908 fires were not reported unless an acre or more 

 was burned over.) 



The protective plan consists in detecting fires in their incipient 

 stages and dispatching necessary help to extinguish the same. 

 This results in reducing the acreage burned, greater saving of 

 forest property, and economy of laibor. This detection is accom- 

 plished through the observers on the numerous mountain stations. 

 Their efficiency is shown by the number of fires which they have 

 reported and the fact that such fires were promptly noticed and 

 the rangers notified. 



