The Hawaiian gazette., 1906-02-09

l 20 date was an interesting one and CALL
"a forth tome vigoroua comments from
the board members concerning the for
Ust IRE question The portion ~ the
report dealing with the recent burning
over of ten acres on Tantaius Is
quoted
| 'On Monday afternoon. February 8.
Was notified about 3 o'clock from
the offlcc of Alexander a Baldwin that
a forest fire was burning on Tantalus
uear Senator Dickeys new house. and
that assistance was required. Taking
three laborers from the nursery / at
once started for Tantalus. walking Up
by the Round Top trail with two men,
while the third with the buggy con-
talning additional tools went around
by the road.
| Arriving at the fire a few minutes
after four o'clock, / found that SEN
ator Dickey, with seven or eight Japa-
nese laborers, had got II under con-
troll, though fire was still smouldering
In number OF standing trees and old
logs which, had n wind sprung up.
| would have been sources of danger to
the adjoining forest. Senator Dickey
informed me that his man was burn
ing brush near his new house, that the
fire had got away from him. and that
although he had tried hard to stop It,.
1t had still spread. back fire had
been started, but the flames got
around 1t and rendered It useless.
Requesting Senator Dickey to take
his men and work around the makai
edge of the fire putting out the places
where 1t was still burning, 1 worked
| In the other direction extinguishing the
| fire in the old logs and stumps on the
side toward the mountain. where there
was more danger Of the fire again get
ting away About five o'clock the Japa-
nese. thinking that with our coming
there was no further need for them
knocked off and returned home. The
laborers from the nursery continued to
work until half-past six, when it be-
came too dark to see any longer, we
then returned to the city. Early on
Tuesday morning two of the laborers
went back to the fire and worked all
the forenoon in putting out the fire at
points where 1t was still smoudering.
From Senator Dickey's account the
fire started about noon, though l did
} not stop long enough to discuss de-
tails with him. After leaving Senator
Dickey at about half-past four o'clock
| did not see him again. The men sent
up on Tuesday morning report that no
: one beside themselves was fighting the
, fire then. Senator Dickey apparently
: did all that was possible to stop the
= fire while it was actually burning by
: getting all the available men to work
fighting it.
In this connection / wish to again
point out that the danger of a forest
/ FIRE does not cease when it's active
y progress has been stopped. AS long as
= ihere remain spots where the fire con-
= iinues 20 shoulder in stumps, old logs
v or in the humus, there is danger, 70,
If wind springs up sparks from sucf
spots may be carried considerable dis
" tances to start new fires in adjoining
sections. Really, the critical part o.
= forest fire fighting comes when the fir
Is thought to be under control, for the
many persons, thinking It is out. q
- away and leave it unmatched. 1t Il
"a never safe to say that a forest fir
:, is out until one is certain that the fir
in every spot is completely extin
- guished.
"The area burned over is altogethe
- In the Manoa watershed. AS the fir
was mainly in dry grass and weeds
- and was stopped before getting int
=, the forest, comparatively little dam
10 age was done, only a few small ko
trees being burned"
At The report was ordered filed.
FOREST FIRES TOO PREVALENT
:, Mr.. Giffard thought there were to
! It,ta Hnnn1tlu Thara ha
" been a law passed forbidding careless
ness in setting out fires in the last ses
sion, but no one had been prosecute
- under It, Senator Dickey had don
~ what he could after this fire had &c
III away, but 1t should have been watch
ot ed at first. There had been gros
r carelessness. He (Mr. Giffard) ha
m warned the Senator's man about fire
ce but the man only needed the warnin
until he had got out of sight. The ma
AZ acted under the Senator's orders, Th
er credit for putting out the fire belonge
~ to the men employed at the variou
al Tantalus residences. Unless some ac
n tion We're taken regarding these fire
of people would think the board lot {
dummies.
Mr.. Thurston thought Mr. Dicke
guilty of exceedingly reprehensibl
conduct.
Mr.. Giffard reported having stoppe
y. a Jap last week who was firing brus
heap as big as a small house. TT
an Japs were in the habit of setting OF
~ fires to smoke out wild bees and wei
careless about 1t. He suggested wri
in ing a warning letter to Senate
ID Dickey.
~, Mr.. Thurston thought the printe
\. warnings posted up should be suff
,y cient, but did not oppose the letter mi
,r ton.
asI In the discussion IL was brought OF
that the law empowered the hiring Z
= men for fighting forest fires, but thel
was no appropriation to pay then
Another item was that there was 7
-, fire warden for the Tantalus distric
on motion of Mr.. Carter, seconde
~ -. by Mr.. Holloway. Mr.. Giffard was a.
W, pointed as the Tantalus fire warde
hu and 1t was further resolved that I
he fires should be allowed in the Tantal'
heights, without the warden's write
sst permission for a period of IL month