THE GREATEST ENEMY OF THE FOREST--FIRE
Our forests are exposed to destruction by many enemies, the worst
of which is fire. From 8,000,000 to 12,000,000 acres of forest
lands annually are burned over by destructive fires. These fires
are started in many different ways. They may be caused by sparks
or hot ashes from a locomotive. Lightning strikes in many forests
every summer, particularly those of the Western States, and
ignites many trees. In the South people sometimes set fires in
order to improve the grazing. Settlers and farmers who are
clearing land often start big brush fires that get out of
their control. Campers, tourists, hunters, and fishermen are
responsible for many forest fires by neglecting to extinguish
their campfires. Sparks from logging engines also cause fires.
Cigar and cigarette stubs and burning matches carelessly thrown
aside start many forest fires. Occasionally fires are also
maliciously set by evil-minded people.
The officers of the National Forests in the West have become
very expert in running down the people who set incendiary fires.
They collect evidence at the scene of the fire, such as pieces of
letters and envelopes, matches, lost handkerchiefs and similar
articles. They hunt for foot tracks and hoof marks. They study
automobile tire tracks. They make plaster of Paris impressions of
these tracks. They follow the tracks--sometimes Indian fashion.
Often there are peculiarities about the tracks which lead to the
detection and punishment of the culprits. A horse may be shod in
an unusual manner; a man may have peculiar hob nails or rubber
heels on his boots or else his footprints may show some
deformity. The forest rangers play the parts of detectives very
well. This novel police work has greatly reduced the number of
incendiary fires.
[Illustration: FOREST FIRES DESTROY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF
TIMBER EVERY YEAR]
A forest fire may destroy in a few hours trees that required
hundreds of years to grow. A heavy stand of timber may be reduced
to a desolate waste because some one forgot to put out a
campfire. Occasionally large forest fires burn farm buildings and
homes and kill hundreds of people. During the dry summer season
when a strong wind is blowing, the fire will run for many miles.
It always leaves woe and desolation in its wake. A mammoth
forest fire in Wisconsin many years ago burned over an area of
two thousand square miles. It killed about fourteen hundred
people and destroyed many millions of dollars worth of timber and
other property. A big forest fire in Michigan laid waste a tract
forty miles wide and one hundred and eighty miles long. More than
four billion feet of lumber, worth $10,000,000, was destroyed and
several hundred people lost their lives. In recent years, a
destructive forest fire in Minnesota caused a loss of $25,000,000
worth of timber and property.
There are several different kinds of forest fires. Some burn
unseen two to four feet beneath the surface of the ground. Where
the soil contains much peat, these fires may persist for weeks or
even months. Sometimes, they do not give off any noticeable
smoke. Their fuel is the decaying wood, tree roots and similar
material in the soil. These underground fires can be stopped only
by flooding the area or by digging trenches down to the mineral
soil. The most effectual way to fight light surface fires is to
throw sand or earth on the flames. Where the fire has not made
much headway, the flames can sometimes be beaten out with green
branches, wet gunny sacks or blankets. The leaves and debris may
be raked away in a path so as to impede their advance.
Usually in the hardwood forests, there is not much cover, such as
dry leaves, on the ground. Fires in these forests destroy the
seedlings and saplings, but do not usually kill the mature trees.
However, they damage the base of the trees and make it easy for
fungi and insects to enter. They also burn the top soil and
reduce the water-absorbing powers of the forest floor. In thick,
dense evergreen forests where the carpet is heavy, fires are much
more serious. They frequently kill the standing trees, burning
trunks and branches and even following the roots deep into the
ground. Dead standing trees and logs aid fires of this kind. The
wind sweeps pieces of burning bark or rotten wood great distances
to kindle new fires. When they fall, dead trees scatter sparks
and embers over a wide belt. Fires also run along the tops of the
coniferous trees high above the ground. These are called
"crown-fires" and are very difficult to control.
The wind plays a big part in the intensity of a forest fire. If
the fire can be turned so that it will run into the wind, it can
be put out more easily. Fires that have the wind back of them and
plenty of dry fuel ahead, speed on their way of destruction at a
velocity of 5 to 10 miles an hour, or more. They usually destroy
everything in their course that will burn, and waste great
amounts of valuable timber. Wild animals, in panic, run together
before the flames. Settlers and farmers with their families flee.
Many are overtaken in the mad flight and perish. The fierce fires
of this type can be stopped only by heavy rain, a change of wind,
or by barriers which provide no fuel and thus choke out the
flames.
Large fires are sometimes controlled by back-firing. A back-fire
is a second fire built and so directed as to run against the wind
and toward the main fire. When the two fires meet, both will go
out on account of lack of fuel. When properly used by experienced
persons, back-fires are very effectual. In inexperienced hands
they are dangerous, as the wind may change suddenly or they may
be lighted too soon. In such cases they often become as great a
menace as the main fire. Another practical system of fighting
fires is to make fire lines around the burning area. These fire
lines or lanes as they are sometimes called, are stretches of
land from which all trees and shrubs have been removed. In the
centre of the lines a narrow trench is dug to mineral soil or the
lines are plowed or burned over so that they are bare of fuel.
Such lines also are of value around woods and grain fields to
keep the fire out. They are commonly used along railroad tracks
where locomotive sparks are a constant source of fire dangers.
Our forests, on account of their great size and the relatively
small man force which guards them, are more exposed to fire
dangers than any other woodlands in the world. The scant rainfall
of many of the western states where great unbroken areas of
forest are located increases the fire damages. The fact that the
western country in many sections is sparsely settled favors
destruction by forest fires. The prevalence of lightning in the
mountains during the summer adds farther to the danger. One of
the most important tasks of the rangers in the Federal forests is
to prevent forest fires.
During the fire season, extra forest guards are kept busy hunting
for signs of smoke throughout the forests. The lookouts in their
high towers, which overlook large areas of forest, watch
constantly for smoke, and as soon as they locate signs of fire
they notify the supervisor of the forest. Lookouts use special
scientific instruments which enable them to locate the position
of the fires from the smoke. At the supervisor's headquarters and
the ranger stations scattered through the forests, equipment,
horses and automobiles are kept ready for instant use when a fire
is reported. Telephone lines and radio sets are used to spread
the news about fires that have broken out.
From five thousand to six thousand forest fires occur each year
in the National Forests of our country. To show how efficient the
forest rangers are in fighting fires, it is worthy of note that
by their prompt actions, 80 per cent. of these fires are confined
to areas of less than ten acres each, while only 20 per cent.
spread over areas larger than ten acres. Lightning causes from 25
to 30 per cent. of the fires. The remaining 70 or 75 per cent.
are classed as "man-caused fires," which are set by campers,
smokers, railroads, brush burners, sawmills and incendiaries. The
total annual loss from forest fires in the Federal forests varies
from a few hundred thousands of dollars in favorable years to
several million in particularly bad fire seasons. During the last
few years, due to efficient fire-fighting methods, the annual
losses have been steadily reduced.
The best way of fighting forest fires is to prevent them. The
forest officers do their best to reduce the chances for fire
outbreak in the Government woodlands. They give away much dead
timber that either has fallen or still is standing. Lumbermen who
hold contracts to cut timber in the National Forest are required
to pile and burn all the slashings. Dry grass is a serious fire
menace. That is why grazing is encouraged in the forests. Rangers
patrol the principal automobile roads to see that careless
campers and tourists have not left burning campfires. Railroads
are required to equip their locomotives with spark-arresters.
They also are obliged to keep their rights of way free of
material which burns readily. Spark-arresters are required also
on logging engines.
The National and State Forests are posted with signs and notices
asking the campers and tourists to be careful with campfires,
tobacco and matches. Advertisements are run in newspapers,
warning people to be careful so as not to set fire to the
forests. Exhibits are made at fairs, shows, community meetings
and similar gatherings, showing the dangers from forest fires and
how these destructive conflagrations may be controlled. Every
possible means is used to teach the public to respect and protect
the forests.
[Illustration: BLACKENED RUINS OF A FIRE-SWEPT FOREST]
For many years, the United States Forest Service and State
Forestry Departments have been keeping a record of forest fires
and their causes. Studies have been made of the length and
character of each fire season. Information has been gathered
concerning the parts of the forest where lightning is most likely
to strike or where campfires are likely to be left by tourists.
The spots or zones of greatest fire danger are located in this
way and more forest guards are placed in these areas during the
dangerous fire season. Careful surveys of this kind are aiding
greatly in reducing the number of forest fires.
In trying to get all possible information about future weather
conditions, the Forestry Departments coöperate with the United
States Weather Bureau. When the experts predict that long periods
of dry weather or dangerous storms are approaching, the forest
rangers are especially watchful, as during such times, the menace
to the woods is greatest. The rangers also have big fire maps
which they hang in their cabins. These maps show the location of
dangerous fire areas, roads, trails, lookout-posts, cities, towns
and ranches, sawmills, logging camps, telephone lines, fire tool
boxes and other data of value to fire fighters. All this
information is so arranged as to be readily available in time of
need. It shows where emergency fire fighters, tools and food
supplies can be secured, and how best to attack a fire in any
certain district. A detailed plan for fighting forest fires is
also prepared and kept on file at every ranger station.
The following are six rules which, if put in practice, will help
prevent outbreaks of fires:
1. Matches.--Be sure your match is out. Break it in two before
you throw it away.
2. Tobacco.--Throw pipe ashes and cigar or cigarette stubs in the
dust of the road and stamp or pinch out the fire before leaving
them. Don't throw them into the brush, leaves or needles.
3. Making camp.--Build a small campfire. Build it in the open,
not against a tree or log, or near brush. Scrape away the trash
from all around it.
4. Leaving camp.--Never leave a campfire, even for a short time,
without quenching it with water or earth. Be sure it is OUT.
5. Bonfires.--Never build bonfires in windy weather or where
there is the slightest danger of their escaping from control.
Don't make them larger than you need.
6. Fighting fires.--If you find a fire, try to put it out. If you
can't, get word of it to the nearest United States forest ranger
or State fire warden at once.
Remember "minutes count" in reporting forest fires.