102 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



A PLOWED FURROW THAT STOPPED A SURFACE FIRE 



season many of them have taken an 

 active part in assisting in the work of 

 fire protection and fire fighting. The 

 Chicago, Milwaukee and Puget Sound 

 Railroad has installed oil-burning loco- 

 motives, and it is a striking fact that not 

 a single fire has started from them, al- 

 though the road traverses a long distance 

 in the national forests. 



A number of railroad companies have 

 entered into cooperative agreements with 

 the Forest Service to clear fire lines 

 along the right of way and to employ 

 special guards to patrol the tracks during 

 the dangerous season. The effectiveness 

 of the cooperative patrol by the railroads 

 and the Forest Service was well illus- 

 trated in Montana and Idaho. Although 

 a very large number of fires were started, 

 most of them were extinguished before 

 great damage was done. In some in- 

 stances, however, no effective system of 

 protection had been undertaken, and very 

 damaging fires are chargeable to locomo- 

 tive sparks. 



One of the most prolific sources of 

 fire and one which is uncontrollable is 

 lightning. There are scattered through- 



out the forest innumerable dead trees 

 and stubs. During the past season there 

 were many electric storms unaccom- 

 panied by rain. In nearly every such 

 storm some tree was struck and a fire 

 started. These occurred frequently in 

 very remote and inaccessible places and 

 resulted in fires which were very disas- 

 trous, because they could not be quickly 

 reached. 



Many fires are chargeable to careless- 

 ness, especially in leaving camp fires and 

 in burning slashings. A larger patrol 

 service would prevent to some extent 

 carelessness in the use of fire in the 

 woods, but fundamentally there is re- 

 quired a better appreciation on the part 

 of the public of the need of protection 

 from fire. 



The most regrettable fact is that there 

 has been a considerable amount of in- 

 cendiarism. While it is very difficult to 

 prove that a given fire is of incendiary 

 origin, circumstantial evidence has shown 

 that many incendiary fires were started 

 during the past season. The situation has 

 been so serious that I have offered a re- 

 ward for the conviction of incendiaries. 



