Fire and the Forest — Theory of Light Burning. 47 



fires will never run. With more men, more telephones, 

 and more trails we shall be able to do this and at a cost 

 of only a cent or two more an acre. We are now expend- 

 ing barely half a cent an acre in fire protection. 



Another argument is that if the ground is kept clean 

 by "light burnings" we shall never have any "crown" 

 fires, and the frightful conflagrations in Montana and 

 Idaho during last summer are pointed to as examples 

 of criminal negligence on the part of the Forest Service. 

 It is said that if we had burned over the ground lightly 

 from time to time such fires would never have occurred. 

 As a matter of fact no amount of "light burning" would 

 have made any difference whatever. If we had burnt 

 the ground until there was nothing upon it but bare 

 earth the same disastrous results would have followed. 

 The fires were in the tops of the trees, advancing in solid 

 masses of flame. The condition of the ground had abso- 

 lutely nothing to do with it. The top-fires resulted, in the 

 first instance, from many small and scattered ground fires 

 which the inadequate force was unable to get to, control, 

 and put out at the start. Then came the hurricane, which 

 carried these fires up into the crowns of the trees. If the 

 small fires had been properly put out at the very first 

 there would have been no ground fires. If there had been 

 men enough, telephones enough, roads and trails enough, 

 they could have been extinguished and we should have 

 had no "crown" fires. 



The theory of "light burning" is sound. The Forest 

 Service uses it in practice, has done so for years, and will 

 continue to do so. ''Light burning" cannot be consid- 

 ered, however, unless it is preceded by such thorough 

 preparation of the ground as will insure complete protec- 

 tion to young growth when the fire comes along. At pres- 

 ent this preparation cannot be made effective except at an 

 expense which is wholly out of the question. If it could 

 be done at a reasonable cost, we should gladly and imme- 

 diately extend our fire cleanings as practiced on lumbered 

 areas to all uncut forests. 



