The Seattle Republican. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1???-1915, 1910-08-12
THE PREVENTION OF FOREST FIRES


ting for the preservation of the countrys forests is
how best to prevent the setting of fires by steam rail-
ways operating through the country Statistics from
reliable show that in forest lands traversed by
railways the coal burning locomotive has been the
cause of from twenty-five per cent up to in some re-
gions ninety per cent of the forest fires New York
state has shown it's progressveness by taking hod OF
this question with firm hand The entire abolition
of burning locomotives from the Adriondacks will
have been accomplished this year. Acting the pc
tition of the Forest, Fish, and Game Commissioner,
the Public Service Commission has ordered the install
ation of oil-burnng engines on the lines OF the New
York Central and Deware and Hudson operating
through the Forest Preserve. The Delaware and
Hudson has already fully complied with the order,
and the New York Central will have completed the
installation of oilburners by September The safe
ty of oburn'ng locomotives has already been demon
strated in New York The RaquetteJ Lake Railway
nineteen miles in length in the heart of the Adron-
dacks, which by statute is required to use burning
locomotives has been operating for ten years, ana no
forest fire has been set by OF its locomotive
engines. The only fire on its line caused by
coal burning locomotive which had been used IN Vlo-
lation of law, to haul special train The Southern
Pacific Railroad with 100 oil-burning locomotives
furnishes unquesoned evidence of the practicabllty
of such operation The use of oil-burnng engines on
the Rangeley division of the Maine Central Railroad
between Austin Junction and Kineon station, dis
lance of fifty miles through thick forests undertaken
voluntarily by the railway Ito eliminate the risk OF
fire and reduce the cost of patrong the road to guard
against fire. is illustration more convincing than
argument. This extreme action on the part OF New
York state followed the great devastation of the sea-
of 1905 when nearly &c. 900 acres of wooded land
in the Forest Preserve were burned over, villages de-
stroyed and the property loss and suffering of nhab-
tants of the district affected most serious The awful
lesson of 1903 when 1885, 600 acres were burned over
and loss of So 500 900 incurred, had not proved
warning, and forgotten that In 1908 the
railways well as the state found themselves unpre-
pared practically for the prevention of fire damage
The 1908 fires in the Adrondacks destroyed $l25
900 worth of lumber and logs and nearly $780, 900 worth
of buildings besides the loss to state lands amounting
to 1914 900. On thousands of which were first
burned in 1903 the 1908 fires consumed the vegetable
matter duff which forms the floor of the forest,
and which will prevent reforestation for many years.
No fires from locomotives have occurred on the lines OF
the Delaware and Hudson this year, and that line is
operating its trains entirely with o-burning locomotives
factory schedules. On another line there has
been one bad forest fire, which has been traced to
locomotive sent out with defective ash-pan which
scattered hot Goals along the tracks. Twentyseven
states have given this subject attention and taken
measures to lessen the dangers from, and prevention
of, forest fires along railway lines. Within few
years Alabama, Massachusetts,, Pennsylvania and
Tennessee have required spark arresters engines
Grated or near forest lands Idaho and Oregon have
passed laws the subject The requirement of oil
burning engines is being agtated by Alabama, Penn
syvana and Oregon Arkansas, South Dakota and
Virginia by special statute, caused by their operation,
and Massachusetts and South Dakota give to railways
insurabe interest in abutting property California
in 1906 made an appropriation for the cutting of fire
lanes and fire trails the south slope of the San Ber
nardino Mountains, in cooperation with the Forest
Service and quite recently the great Northern Rail
way Company and the Northern Pacific Railway Com
pany signed agreement with the Secretary of Ag-
rculture which provides for cooperation between
these railways and the Forest Service in the matter of
fire control along their rights of way General rec
concentrations for better protection against forest
fires have recently been made by the governors of
Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey.
Michigan in 1907 gave the general subject of fire pre-