18 MISCELLANEOUS CIRCULAR NO. 61 



The problem resolves itself into one of reducing man-caused fires 

 to the lowest possible minimum and of organizing thoroughly 

 enough to put out the fires that do start while they are small and 

 can be handled. The first can be done only through inducing people 

 to use greater care with fire. State and Federal laws now place 

 many restrictions on the use of fire in the dangerous season, and 

 through education the public is becoming very much better informed 

 as to the damage which fires do and the care which is essential. It 

 is now unlawful *o set fire in slashings for the purpose of clearing 

 land or disposing of brush during the dangerous season without 

 a permit from a forest officer or State fire warden. Restrictions are 

 also placed by law on setting and leaving camp fires and on throw- 

 ing away lighted matches or cigarette stubs. More than 2,000 Fed- 

 eral forest rangers and guards and State fire wardens are on the 

 ground throughout the fire season, enforcing these laws, urging on 

 the public care with fire, and directing the work of fire fighting. 



The building up of a force of men with the equipment needed 

 to prevent and suppress fires under these conditions is a vast and 

 expensive undertaking. Added to this is the necessity of building 

 telephone lines, lookout stations, roads, and trails, in order to make 

 it possible to discover and report fires quickly and to provide means 

 of transportation. For transporting men, supplies, and equipment 

 over the trails hundreds of pack horses are maintained by the Forest 

 Service. A large central warehouse for storing supplies and equip- 

 ment is maintained at Spokane, and many smaller warehouses 

 where supplies sufficient for immediate needs are always on hand 

 are located within the forests. 



A sufficient number of fire lookouts are placed on the high moun- 

 tain peaks, so that eA^ery part of the forest can be seen by one or 

 more of them. The men on duty at these lookouts must know thor- 

 oughly the country which their stations overlook. Each lookout is 

 connected with headquarters by telephone and reports at stated 

 times each day, as well as making special calls when fires are dis- 

 covered and reporting the progress of fires that are burning. By 

 means of an alidade or other instrument and a map he is able to 

 give the exact location of any fire that starts. (Fig. 8.) Other men, 

 known as " smoke chasers " or forest firemen, are employed and sta- 

 tioned at advantageous points, to be immediately dispatched when 

 fires are reported. These men must also know the country thor- 

 oughly. Many of them must travel on foot, carrying their rations 

 and fire-fighting tools on their backs, as it is frequently necessary to 

 leave all trails in order to reach the fires. 



About 1.250 lookout men and smoke chasers are employed each 

 year on the national forests of Idaho, and about as many more men 

 who are employed in the building of roads, trails, and telephone 

 lines are held in readiness for fire fighting at any time. Most of 

 these construction men are employed on trail building in the most 

 inaccessible country, where they often prevent the spread of fires 

 which start and which would otherwise be extremely difficult and 

 expensive to handle because of the time lost in reaching them. The 

 employment of these men reduces the cost of fire fighting, and when 

 there are no fires they are used in making the forests more accessible, 

 thus rendering the fire situation easier to handle. For information 



