The twofold job ahead, clearly, is to (1) bring 
unprotected areas under effective control, and (2) 
build up protection to reasonable adequacy where 
now spread too thin. 
Unless progress is accelerated, it will take about 
20 years to bring under protection the 120 million 
acres remaining in 1946. This is too slow. A 
reasonable aim would be to do it within the next 
decade. To many States, especially in the South, 
this is a major challenge. 
For lands now under protection the allowable 
burn objective should be attained in all States as 
soon as possible. Except for critical watershed 
lands, these standards appear adequate for timber 
growing and the other uses of forest lands. 
Topping the obstacles to satisfactory fire control 
is the man-caused fire. Ninety-seven percent of 
the forest fires are in this category and hence, in 
theory, preventable. Of the 68,000 which occurred 
annually, 1941-45, on protected private and State 
lands, more than half were caused by campers, 
debris burners, and the like, and 9 percent by 
railroads and lumbering (fig. 26). 
percent were purposely set. 
‘Twenty-eight 
9% RAILROADS 3% LIGHTNING 
AND LUMBERING 
ON 
BY 
60% 
SMOKERS, CAMPERS, 
DEBRIS BURNERS, 
AND UNKNOWN 
Ficure 26.—Causes of forest fires, private and state lands, 
Incendiarism is most prevalent in the South, 
where it accounts for 43 percent of all fires. Here 
firing the woods is a long-established practice. 
When employed judiciously in certain types and 
under controlled conditions, fire can help estab- 
lish a new crop of pine, improve grazing, reduce the 
hazard from inflammable debris, and serve other 
purposes. But most of the woods-burning through- 
out the South is indiscriminate and seriously im- 
pairs forest values. It is also a troublesome local 
problem in some western forests. 
Prevention of man-caused fires is a knotty prob- 
lem. Fundamentally it depends on an aroused 
public opinion. Effective educational work is 
being done by the Cooperative Forest Fire Preven- 
tion Campaign, and by the “Keep Green” and 
similar programs. Education on-a much more 
ample scale is needed. 
Paralleling the educational problem is that of 
obtaining satisfactory fire laws. In about one-third 
of the States, the laws are inadequate. Most of the 
States where protection is poorest—in the South, 
the Central region, and the South Rocky Mountain 
region—do not require brush-burning permits. 
Many lack other safeguards relating to slash dis- 
posal, campfires, and restricted use of forest areas 
during hazardous periods. 
Better enforcement of fire laws is another wide- 
spread need. The quality of enforcement reflects 
the attitudes of the people and local courts. En- 
forcement has been weak in the Southeast and West 
Gulf regions. 
Still another problem is finances. Costs have 
markedly increased, better information is avail- 
able on what adequate protection requires, and the 
area needing protection has been increased some 
16 million acres. By recent estimates, adequate 
protection will cost about 40 million dollars a 
year, or more than double the estimate made in 
1939. Total expenditures in 1947 were 22 million 
dollars. Obviously a dollar job cannot be done 
for 55 cents. Both Federal and State funds are 
short of the mark. 
There is also need for more efficient adminis- 
tration—a responsibility of the States, primarily. 
There is wide variation in the efficiency of State 
forestry departments. ‘This is related in one way 
or another to variations in value and extent of 
forest resources, in per capita wealth, in adequacy 
of fire laws, in civil service standards and salary 
levels, and many other factors. No uniform pat- 
tern or standards can be prescribed. Nevertheless, 
to achieve effective Nation-wide fire control, many 
State forestry departments must be further strength- 
ened so as to assure continuity of programs, able 
leadership, competent, well-trained staffs, and 
ample authority and money to do the job. 
84 Miscellaneous Publication 668, U. 8. Department of Agriculture 
