FIRE AND WIND 



35 



dry southwest wind, fires are easily started. 

 They burn most readily, and are most frequent^ 

 on south and southwest slopes, and upon 

 mountain-tops and ridges. Fires running down 

 hill are often stopped by the damp moss and 

 other vegetation under the dense cover of Hem- 

 lock and Pine. When started at the bottom of 

 a slope, a fire may either run up over the hill- 

 side or it may follow some narrow ravine, which 

 acts almost like a chimney to increase its power. 



The chief causes of fires are the desire for 

 better pasture or a richer crop of huckleberries^ 

 the carelessness of campers, recklessness in 

 clearing land or burning a fallow, railroads, 

 and malice. The country is so sparsely popu- 

 lated that, even when the incendiary is known, 

 it is practically impossible to secure evidence 

 sufficient to convict. 



The usual method of fighting fires is back- 

 firing, but the scanty population makes it both 

 costly and difficult, in most lumber regions, to 

 assemble men enough to offer successful resist- 

 ance to extensive fires. Effective measures 

 must look toward localizing the danger by 

 cutting fire-lines, and the organization of 

 systems of fire wardens or fire patrols. But 

 these precautions are expensive, and without a 

 strong public sentiment behind them they can 



