What the National Forests Mean to Mpntana 25 



too large to be extinguished with the light tools which one man can 

 carry on his back, extra help is assembled, equipped with tools, and 

 sent to the scene. 



To reach fires in rough and inaccessible country is sometimes 

 a difficult undertaking. The transportation of supplies must be by 

 pack horses over rough mountain trails (Fig. IT). Effort is always 

 made, however, to send men and equipment as soon as possible, 

 for a fire is easily put out only while it is small. 



In fighting fire it is usual to construct a fire line, or trench, by 

 cutting out fallen timber and clearing away the debris and litter 

 down to the mineral soil until a break is formed at which the fire 

 can be held. A line of this kind is patrolled continually to prevent 

 the fire from crossing. Often a high wind will baffle all attempts 

 to check a fire at a line of this kind, and the flames will leap the 

 barrier and make it necessary to build another fire line to surround 



Fig. 17. — Pack train transporting lumber for a lookout cabin 



the new area. Back-firing is occasionally employed to hold the 

 flames inside the fire line by burning the inflammable material for 

 some distance toward the oncoming blaze. This is a hazardous un- 

 dertaking at best, and is only practiced under exceptional circum- 

 stances or as a last resort. 



Private owners, realizing that it is to their interest to protect 

 their investments in timber and cut-over lands, have in many cases 

 organized timber protective associations or cooperative agencies for 

 detecting and extinguishing fires. The cost of patrolling and fire 

 fighting is paid out of a common fund provided by the assessment 

 of each owner according to the number of acres he holds. There 

 are two such organizations in Montana at the present time. 



Grass fires are common in the open yellow-pine forests of eastern 

 Montana. Valuable cattle range may be destroyed by such fires or 

 areas of young trees wiped out. The damage is small, however, in 

 contrast to the destruction caused by a bad fire in the heavy stands 

 west of the Divide. 



