I. STATEMENT OF THE PR03LEM 
T he, jver-all problem, in a nutshell, is to: 
REDUCE THE NUMBER OF MAN-MADE FOREST FIRES 
THAT ARE STARTED CARELESSLY AND INTENTIONALLY. 
. Major elements of the over-all problen include: 
1.. Forest fires 
A. Number, area burned, damage 
Each year the United States has from 140,000 to 220,000 forest fires. 
In one of the biggest forest fires (Tillamook, Oregon, in August of 
1933), 267,000 acres - two-thirds being virgin timber - were burned 
over, and enough trees to build 800,000 five-^room frame homes were 
killed. Figuring 4 people per home, 800,000 homes would have housed 
the entire populations (1940 census) of the following 10 cities: 
Portland, Oreg.; Oakland, Calif.; Denver, Colo.; Omaha, Nebr.; Columbus, 
Ohio; St. Paul, Minn,; Memphis, Tenn.; Ft. Worth, Tex.; Atlanta, Ga.; 
and Boston, Mass. . 
Fire in forests (including farm woodlands, which are 40 percent of all 
privately owned commercially valuable forest land) is therefore a 
factor which must be reckoned with Nation-wide. 
National averages of the number of forest fires, area burned, and 
damage, over the 5-year period 1936-40, are: 
- 2lt)-,9?0 forest' fires per year- 
31,233,000 abres burned per year - almost as many acres 
as there are in New York State % 
' - — $37,£3L-,000 in damage, per year. 
B. Man-made forest fires *.-4. ... ...... 
90$ -of all forest- fires, ara man-made (10$ are lightning fires) 
30$ of all forest fires are’ started by oareless smokers and’ * 
campers % . A 
' 40$ of all forest fires ARE INTENTIONALLY SET 
... - . <->; -• r • ' : t ■ *'• ■ ' f ' ■ * ' r 
* (a) for.purposes like clearing plow-land, burning off 
logging Slash and other brush or debris (many ff 
(Over) 
