24 Miscellaneous Circular 48, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 



highway through western Montana can not fail to notice the great 

 scars left on the mountain slopes by these severe fires. There is a 

 period from the last of June to the first of September when rain is 

 usually very scarce in the State. In some years practically no rain 

 falls from early June until the middle of September. The forest 

 becomes very dry and inflammable, and it often happens that at 

 these times a succession of severe electric storms occurs, bringing an 

 abundance of lightning with little rain to extinguish the fires which 

 are started. These lightning fires are usually set in the high 

 mountain country, often remote from settlements and hard to reach. 

 Even before the coming of white men, fires took their toll of Mon- 

 tana forests. Of this there is abundant proof in fire scars hidden 



in the wood of old trees, and char- 

 coal buried in the duff of the for- 

 est floor. TTith the coming of the 

 settlers to Montana the fire haz- 

 ard gradually increased, because 

 of sparks from locomotives and 

 carelessness of brush burners, 

 campers, and smokers. 



Before the national forests were 

 put under the administration of 

 the Forest Service in 1905, little 

 or no attempt was made to con- 

 trol forest fires on the public do- 

 main. They were left to burn 

 unchecked except in cases where 

 buildings or other improvements 

 were threatened. This indiffer- 

 ence to timber destruction has dis- 

 appeared with the growing ap- 

 preciation of the value of forests 

 and forest products. 



The greatest fire danger in 

 Montana is in the heavy stands 

 of timber west of the Continental 

 Divide. A fire burning in the 

 crowns of the trees and driven 

 forward by high wind is a de- 

 structive force which can hardly 

 be appreciated without being seen. 

 East of the Continental Divide, 

 where the growth of timber is more open in character, the danger is 

 much less, although great destruction can be caused in the heavy 

 lodge-pole pine forests. 



The Forest Service has now developed a comprehensive system 

 of fire protection. During the summer months an extra force of men 

 is employed in protective work. On some of the higher peaks, 

 which command extensive views of the country, lookout men are 

 constantly on the watch for smoke (Fig. 16), which may be likened 

 to a signal of distress. When smoke is discovered its approximate 

 location is at once reported over the telephone to the nearest ranger 

 station. A patrolman, called a " smoke-chaser," starts immediately 

 to investigate and put out the blaze. In case the fire proves to be 



Fig. 16. 



F-180140 



-A forest fire lookout cabin 



