Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1910-09-10
PROTECTING THE FORESTS FROM
THE SCoURGE OF FIRE.

Every year seems TO bring up forci
bly, the need for more extensive sys.
TENS OF protection against fire in
the national forests Of the far west
and northwest The disasters of this
summer IoiEt to the fact that more
safeguards must be thrown about
the wooded areas of the country il
a repetition Of the recent fires is
to be avoided.
For it is fact that a years fires
burn away more of the precious WOO
lands than would be taken to supply
the timber needs of the country fol
quite a few years. Added to this
and even more urgent as a reason
for action, is the enormous loss OF
life and property involved in a fire
like that ofthis summer.
In some cases in the national fores
according to Chief Forester Henry
c. Graves, single ranger has the
responsibility Of looking after more
than 100000 acres during the dry
season, In the forests of Germany
one guard is kept or every 170t
acres-in one case even as few as
$50 acres.
The national forests of the United
| States now include almost 200 600 900
acres of land and to look after these {
force of 5000 men is employed This
is recognized to be totally made
| luate for the heavy demands, anC
each dry spell brings its quota OF
disastrous fires to bear out this
fact more strongly.
In the measures that have alread
been taken to protect the forests fro
fires, the telephone has played yer!
important part This part is des
cribed i'm recent Washington dis
patch to a number of daily news
papers under the heading "Thous
ands of Dollars Saved the Govern
ment by Telephone' i'm the follow
ing words
In protecting forest reserves of
the United States from fire the
telephone has become an inStru-
ment of salvation and there are
many cases on record in the for
estry bureau where this modern
appliance has saved innumerabe
lives and many hundred thousand
dollars worth of timber.
Experience has taught the Off
cials in charge of the forestry
| bureau that it is almost out of
the question to cope with forest
fires after they have been fully
started When they get a good
start and have favorable condi-
dtions, such as a brisk breeze
and dry weather, the flames
sweep through the forest and
over the surrounding country
without meeting any great re
sistance Therefore, the officials
of the bureau have determined
that the only possible way to
control these fires Is to pre-
vent them-that is, attack the
fire at its inception.
1t is at this point where the
telephone gets in it's work and
has demonstrated itself as an
| important factor as a machine
of salvation AS means of pre-
venting fires and to discover
those which have not gained any
amount of Roadway, thousands of
men have been employed annual
ly by the government as rangers
and patrolmen. They are assign
ed to districts which they are
called on to patrol, but the work
of this patrol system did not really
become effective until the tele-
phone was introduced.
AS the condition presents it.
self to-day, a forest ranger leaves
his cabin in some secluded val
ley to patrol the territory allot-
ed to him. His trails are well
kept, his telephone is in order,
with call boxes arranged every few
miles along the path and fire
lanes, and at observation towers.
He reaches a spot where party
of prospectors or others have
been camping and have left their
camp fire without eXtinguishing
it. Since their departure and prior
to the appearance Of the ranger
the fire has extended along the
ground in the dry forest carpet
and assumed proportions too
great for him to handle alone,
though his efforts may be suffi-
cient to check the flames for a
short period The ranger can re
remain and fight the fire alone
and wait fer the arrival of other
rangers who have ben attracted
by the smoke, or he can ride to