projects, studied watershed problems, recommended 

 nature-study programs, and has generally kepi in 

 touch with all plans for forest improvement in Luzerne 

 County and the surrounding region. 



Fire Control 



Intense fire prevention and control is one of the 

 first needs of the region. The seriousness of the fire 

 situation has caused considerable local concern, and 

 various efforts have been made in the past 40 years 

 to alleviate it. As a result the situation has improved, 

 especially in the last two decades. Although the 

 number of fires has increased, the average annual 

 burn has been reduced, as the following tabulation 

 shows: 



Fires Average 



per year annual burn 

 (Number) (Acres) 



1921-25 1,249 112,492 



1936-40 1,652 24,858 



Since many of these fires occurred in areas that had 

 been burned over at least once before, the actual 

 forest damage has not been so high as might be 

 expected. In 1936-40, for example, the average 

 annual forest damage was estimated at $47,470. On 

 the other hand, these repeated fires hinder repro- 

 duction and seriously retard the regrowth of the 

 forests. 



The reduction in area burned per fire speaks 

 strongly for the effectiveness of the fire-control 

 measures that have been in operation. Much of the 

 improvement can be credited to the organization set 

 up by the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and 

 Waters. A State-wide system of fire prevention and 

 control was established in 1915; in 1920 it was ex- 

 panded into a district organization. (The Anthracite 

 Forest Region includes all or pails of five of the 

 State districts.) In 1923 the State began to erect fire 

 lookout towers at strategic points (fig. 10) and to 

 acquire up-to-date fire-fighting equipment. In 1934 

 the installation of a radio-communication system for 

 forest lire control was begun. Although much pro- 

 gress lias been made in protecting the forests from 

 fires, the number of fires annuall) and the acreage 

 burned are still far too large. 



In the Luzerne County area, the Wyoming Valley 

 Chamber of Commerce lias been especially active in 

 tire prevention and control. In cooperation with 

 the Department of Forests and Waters it instituted a 

 prevention and control program in the Wilkes-Barre 



division. Through investigation of the causes, fre- 

 quency, and destructiveness of foresl fires a detailed 

 plan for intercommunity cooperation was developed 

 in Luzerne County. Coal, water-supply, railroad, 

 and telephone companies were enlisted to assume 

 responsibility for fires occurring on or near their 

 properties. Railroads have given increasing coopera- 

 tion in burning safety strips along their rights-of-way. 

 Township fire departments have been made respon- 

 sible for grass fires, which often spread into the forests. 

 Paid fire fighters are called out only as a last resort. 

 This set-up was augmented in July 1942 by the 

 Forest Fire Fighters Service, a volunteer organization 

 established by the Office of Civilian Defense. 



Reforestation 



The attempt to control and prevent fires has been 

 paralleled by the planting of open areas with tree 

 seedlings. During the decade 1934-43 the number 

 of seedlings planted averaged 1> 4 million a year, a 

 total of 12,603,000 for the decade. Well over a 

 third of these were set out in Schuylkill, Columbia, 

 and Luzerne Counties. Some hardwood seedling 

 have been planted, but conifers have been preferred. 

 Red pine, Norway spruce, white pine, and pitch 

 pine account for two-thirds of the number m'I out. 



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Area 



11 



