Fire 



Fires, chronicled in charred stumps and scarred 

 trees, have occurred at irregular intervals on 62 

 percent of the forest area. Prevalence of fire 

 varies with the forest type. Ninety-five percent 

 of the longleaf pine land has been burned by fires 

 of varying degrees of intensity. In the shortleaf- 

 loblolly-hardwood types, 70 percent of the acreage 

 shows evidence of past fires. Fires originating in 

 the pine types often continue into the hardwood 

 areas, of which 25 percent showed evidence of 

 fires. 



The common fire is a ground fire that advances 

 slowly through the underbrush along an irregular 

 front, seldom reaching the tops to form crown 

 fires. The shortleaf-loblolly-hardwood types are 

 most susceptible to fire damage; reproduction and 

 young second growth often are killed outright. 

 Once established, longleaf pine is very resistant to 

 fires, damage being mainly limited to scars on the 

 lower stem. Fire damage to merchantable pines 

 accounts for about 10 percent of the volume 

 deducted for woods cull. Fires in hardwoods 

 generally kill the reproduction and some of the 

 young second growth. A large proportion of the 



woods cull of hardwoods is due to fire and the 

 resulting decay. 



The fire danger is greatest in the spring and 

 summer, continuing into the late fall if rainfall is 

 below normal. Before a fire-protection system 

 was inaugurated in east Texas, it was the general 

 custom of the local inhabitants to burn over the 

 woods every year. The protective system estab- 

 lished by the State under the Clarke-McNary Act, 

 with the assistance of Federal and private funds, 

 has as one of its functions the education of the 

 citizenry concerning the damage caused by woods 

 burning. In 1935, of the 3,500 fires recorded by 

 by the Texas Forest Service, 35 percent were of 

 incendiary origin, and 39 percent were caused by 

 careless smokers. The protection system has 

 recently been extended and greatly improved 

 through the addition of new towers, telephone 

 lines, forest roads, and additional personnel and 

 equipment. By the end of 1935, 77 percent of the 

 forest area of the unit was under protection by the 

 State and Federal Forest Services. In the pro- 

 tected territory, the area burned annually and the 

 damage caused thereby have been reduced to very 

 small amounts. There is still, however, need for 

 expansion of the intensive protection measures, and 

 this should be carried out. 



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