40 CHAPARRAL. 
be carried long distances by wind, their tendency is to travel down- 
hill, and it is unfortunate 1f there is no uninjured area above. 
Before the creation of the National Forests in southern California 
public sentiment with regard to fire in the chaparral was practically 
dormant. Year after year cattlemen fired the chaparral in the er- 
roneous belief that younger and tenderer plants would come in and 
afford better pasturage. Some prospectors would burn over the re- 
gion which they intended to explore. If a hunter wished to start 
a fire to drive out a wounded deer, no one objected. But with the 
larger demands upon the water supply which went hand in hand with 
the increasing development of the country, the people of southern 
California came to realize that only by maintaining intact the chapar- 
ral cover on the watersheds could they be sure of enough water for 
their needs. 
The establishment of the National Forests has been the chief factor 
in decreasing the number of severe fires in the chaparral. The pre- 
ventive and protective measures against fire established by the Forest 
Service on the National Forests of southern California include patrol 
during the danger seasons, fire lines, roads and trails, telephone lines, 
and a fire-fighting force equipped with the necessary tools. The prin- 
cipal causes of fire in the chaparral are sparks from locomotives, 
incendiarism, brush burning, carelessness of campers, and lightning. 
All of these, except lightning, are controllable, | 
The efficiency of the patrol is shown by the fact that in 1907 58 
per cent of the chaparral fires were extinguished before 5 acres had 
been burned; in 1908, 62 per cent; in 1909, 57 per cent; and in 1910, 
56 per cent. These percentages of fires extinguished before great 
headway was made, however, are not as high as those for other 
National Forests where the stand is composed of the typical west- 
ern conifers. This difference is to be expected, and it merely bears 
witness to the truth that chaparral is more inflammable than other 
forests. : 
High points which command a view of a large area of country are 
used as lookout stations by rangers on patrol. The news of a fire 
is sent to headquarters by telephone, telegraph, heliograph, or flag 
signals, | 
Fire lines are constructed in the chaparral areas on the Nationat 
Forests to limit the spread of flames. (PI. Vi, fig. 2.) These lines 
are supplemented by roads and trails, which in themselves are often 
effective barriers. Usually the fire line is cleared along the ridges, 
while roads and trails follow gradients on the sidehills. <A cha- 
parral fire may burn itself out at the top of a ridge, either because ofa 
change in the air currents or because of its inability to travel down- 
hill, but a fire line makes this limit more certain. In addition, it fur- 
nishes an open lne of communication through which a force of men 
