destroy timber and to create 
smoke in critical defense 
areas. The USDA Forest 
Service, in cooperation with 
State organizations, 
implemented two schemes 
designed to help with fire 
control. One was the 
nationwide Forest Fire 
Fighters Service, which 
utilized the volunteer efforts 
of farmers, ranchers, social 
and recreational groups, and 
high school and college 
students. This program was 
funded through the Office of 
Civil Defense and 
administered by the State 
Foresters. State organized, 
equipped, and trained the 
crews. They were a valuable 
supplement to the regular 
firefighting crews of the State 
and Federal forestry agencies 
(Robbins 1985). 
The second effort—the War 
Forest Fire Cooperation 
Program—focused on 
strengthening protection on 
State and private lands of 
strategic importance. The 
funds supplemented 
Clarke-McNary but did not 
have to be matched by 
States. Most of the funds 
went to employ seasonal fire 
crews, and amounts varied 
widely among regions. In the 
South, crews were located 
near military installations or 
in strategic areas along the 
coast. In some cases the 
money was used to 
strengthen existing 
protection; in others it was 
used to extend protection to 
previously unprotection 
areas. Many Southern States 
had difficulty hiring crews 
because the wages were 
tied to existing Clarke-McNary 
wage scales (Robbins 1985). 
The military considered the 
Nation’s forests to be critical 
to the conduct of the war. 
They also viewed setting 
forest fires as a serious crime. 
This sentiment is well 
expressed in the following 
excerpt (Gill 1942) from a 
general order issued 
September 21, 1942, by 
Major General William 
Bryden, U.S. Army: 
Warning is hereby issued 
that any person who 
willfully injures or destroys, 
or attempts to injure or 
destroy, war material 
(including standing timber) 
or war premises (including 
forests) by fire or other 
means,. . . is liable to 
prosecution under the 
Federal Sabotage Act 
. . .and, if convicted under 
such Act, is subject to fine 
of up to ten thousand 
dollars or imprisonment 
up to thirty years, or both. 
States such as Georgia, 
south Carolina, and 
Mississippi used the 
emergency funds to expand 
fire protection greatly. In 
general, there was a marked 
Si 
