GOVERNMENT FOREST WORK IN" UTAH 



17 



secure f airly good control of the fire situation since the forests have 

 been placed under Government administration. The serious fires 

 of the past were usually the result of human carelessness. Early mill 

 operators have been accused of burning over areas before cutting, 

 in order to get rid of the underbrush. They were also responsible 

 for unintentional fires that got away through carelessness. Indians 

 were charged with starting fires for the purpose of driving game 

 into the open. At the present time fire losses within the national 

 forests have been largely eliminated. There are, however, each 

 year a number of fires due to the carelessness of visitors. These 

 fires can be eliminated completely if pleasure seekers visiting the 

 forests will be careful with their fires and cigarettes. Adequate 

 protection can be obtained only through the cooperation of the many 



Figure S. — One of the meanest jobs in the world is fighting fire, but when a fire is 

 discovered in a national forest it is fought by forest officers until extinguished. 

 Fire lines cleared of brush and debris are usually made to check the spread of fires 

 running along the ground. Wasatch National Forest, Utah 



visitors and by a constant effort on the part of the forest officers to 

 impress the traveling public with the necessity of playing safe with 

 fire while in the woods. 



INVESTIGATIVE AND COOPERATIVE WORK 



Besides administering the national forests, the Forest Service 

 conducts a number of special investigations. Those relating to range 

 use have already been mentioned; others concern the growth and 



