Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1909-05-29
COD" MESSAGES
Wireless Telegraph will Probably be
Installed to Communicate Forest
Fires.

Spokane, Wash, May %. Vet
earn timber cruisers in the Inland
Empire declare the time is not far
distant when &c. @. D." messages
will be flashed by wireless telegraph
as a solution of the problem of
scientific fire-fghting in the forests
of Washington, Oregon, Idaho,
Nevada, Montana, California and
British Columbia, which contain
more than 7OO,O00,OOO acres of
standing timber, the patrolling OF
which costs the lumber companies
and the United States forest service
hundreds of thousands of dollars a
year, in addition to the enormous
expense involved in constructing
and maintaining the governments
lines of communication.
Lumbermen in Spokane say that
more timber is destroyed annually
by fires than is cut by the saws,
and add if some adequate protec-
ton could be devised the standing
timber in the Northwest would
last for centuries. They have nu-
merous state and interstate organi-
cations, the largest being the Pa
cific Northwest Forest Protection
and Conservation association, a
federation of fire protective leagues
In Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Mon
tana ann California, headed by AL
bert L. Flewelling of Spokane
This organization has hundreds o.
men in its imploy, but their means
of communication are not extensive
enough to cover the vast areas, the
result being that much of it is I'M
protected
! The plan advocated byR.H. Arm
strong, an expert operator, is tt
establish a gystem of wireless sig
nal boxes and teach the fores
rangers the code, so that with thu
first alarm they could locate thu
blaze and summon assistance before
the fire gained much Roadway
This would eliminate the danger o
cutting off communication by fire
destroying the poles and trees fall
ing across wires. Probably tn
most important thing is the saving
of life. Every year, since 1870, al
average of so persons have beel
: burned to death in the Unite
Estates in forest fires, making
total of nearly 1000 lives sacrifice
, to flames which might have bee
prevented.
Armstrong maintains that th
chief reason for the spread of th
A fire is after a blaze is discovered
Z long time elapses before the alarl
can be sounded and aid summone
to fight the flames. Many of tn
large lumber concerns of the Pacif
, Northwest have considered usir
4, telephone lines for connectir
y cam ps of forest rangers, but tn
was given up for the reason TIL
the flames would burn the poles
n the wind would blow them down
4 often that they would be usele
= most OF the time. Then, too,
was found that in many limb
tracts the country is so rugged al
,e the standing timber so heavy
l. would be almost impossible
d stretch a wire line.
IS However, the forest service b
built hundreds of miles of telepho
lines and cut trails through the
10 government forests in Idaho, Was
ington, Montana and other'weste
states, where it also maintains !
I'd trolls. These were found of go
D. use during the fires in 1907 a
1908, but large areas was burn
over as the result of the fires ga
ing great Roadway before ii
&c could be located by the raj
riders.
One thousand acres of virI