Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-09-22
FIRES WE'RE DESTRUCTIVE
Caused Loss of Much Timber Wealth
Of the Country.

Of the Country.
WASHINGTON, d. c., Sept. ga
The forest fires which have just
laid waste whole counties In Min
nesota. Michigan and extended
into Wisconsin, destroying many
towns and making thousands of per-
sons homeless, have focused the at
tention OF both government and state
forest officers on the enormous losses
of forest wealth which will be
checked up to the year 1908.
In the whole northern half Of the
United States throughout the vast
territory extending from coast to
coast, the reported destruction by
forest fires has been terrific and 1t is
likly that the year will go down as
one of the worst In the last quarter
century. 1t seems that no part OF
the country has escaped the work of
the devastating flames. The latest
disasters in Minnesota, Michigan, and
Wisconsin are the worst of the many
that have visited the lake states this
year. Other sections have also suf-
fered from forest fires during the
spring and summer months, and the
people of the Pacific coast, the Rocky
Mountain and New England states,
and Canada have had a thorough,
and In some cases, a continuous ex-
perience in fire lighting.
Ofacers in the United States forest
service here say that it is doubtful
If this years losses from forest fires
in all parts of the country will ever
be known, but 1t is certain that they
will run up so high in the millions
that the country will be startled
when a compilation of statistics at
the end Of the season makes 1t. pos
sible to give even the most conserva-
tive figures. Suffice it to say, were
all the timber burned up this year
in all parts of the country converted
into cash, it could provide for good
sized navy of first-cIass battleships.
The fires have done good in one
way; they have focused the peoples
attention on the seriousness of the
forest fire problem practical foresters
say, and have started widespread
movement in many states to check
them by adopting rational systems
of fire protection. Among thinking
people there has been awakened an
intense interest in throwing a better
protection around the forests, which
grow more important as a natural
resources as the timber supply dwin-
dies.
The government has had a lot of
work in the fire fighting line on the
National Forests, bat serious as the
fires have been, careful patrol and
the organization of a force to battle
with the flames as soon as discovered
has held the losses down to a point
where they are utterly insignificant
when one considers the fearful
destruction which would have come
about had there been no protection.
Although the FIRE menace has been
serious in all sections officers of the
Forest Service estimate that the to-
tai cost of the forest fires on the
National Forests for the season. ex-
elusive Of forest officers, will not be
more than $4,000. This sum is
small when 1t is remembered that
1t means FIRE. protection for approx
mately les. 200. 900 acres of National
Forests. less than two-thlrds Of
mill per acre. Progressive state
FIRE wardens and forest officers. in
dividuals and private corporations
having large timber holdings organ
lied fire fighting forces along much
the same line as the government 10
many cases, and I'm this way they
have given protection to millions of
acres OF timber which might have
been destroyed had II been left UNI
protected.