The Detroit times., 1910-11-15
RANGER SERVICE
is BADLY NEEDED
Forests " Northwest Show Losses
of Billions OF Feet of Lumber
BY Fires.

WASHINGTON. Nov 1.-THE sum
mer OF 1910 must be put down rs the
blacklist season in the annals OF the
forest districts of the northwest
In Washington. Oregon the pan.
handle of Idaho western Montana
and northern Minnesota There we're
devastated by FIRE districts aggregat
ing perhaps nearly as large an area
as the whole OF Ireland Scores Of
I lives were lost billions of feet OF
timber vas destroyed The loss. esti
mated in dollars. must be counted in
hundreds OF millions
/ Now that winter has come and the
rains and SHOWS have fallen on the
( waste districts. putting out the smol-
dering fires. the forestry officials arv
making survey OF the district anu
counting the cost They tnd that
roughly this is Nhat the fires OF the
summer OF 1910 have done
They have taken more than hun
dred lives - in the FAR northwest
and 30. possibly SO. in the Lake of the
Woods region and have made hun
dreds OF families homeless.
They have laid waste in the Bitter
Root mountains a district 20 miles
long and 80 miles wide. This in Is
hours
They have DESTROYED in southern
Oregon S00.000o00 feet OF standing
timber.
In the two states of Oregon and
Washington they have destroyed a
billion feet OF national forest timber
They swept a great tract in western
Montana.
In northern Minnesota they de
stroyed S. zoe ,00o worth OF timber N
one day
In the whole country they destroy
ed timber TO the value OF $4,000 ,0Uo
10 5000 900 eco. the entire lumber cut
or two years, about eighty billion
feet
Losses Wholly Unnecessary.
II is difficult to realize the extent
OF these losses II is more difficult
still 70 realize that these losses in
life and property were wholly un.
necessary that with ordinary precau-
ton on the part OF government and
public the great forest fires OF 1910
would never have been. And il seems
past belief that the loss entailed By
fire his summer in Minnesota alone
reaches an aggregate equal TO the
sum that would be required 10 cover
the cost of extending the state rang.
er service as proposed, for a period
OF fifty years.
Further, II is difficult for those who
have never experienced the horrors
OF a great bush fire TO form any AIDE
quate conception OF what il is like.
Assistant District Forester Silcox,
writing OF the great fire driven before
the hurricane OF Aug 20-2l gives a
word picture that serves TO carry
some idea OF what the devastatiuc
element may be at its worst He
| says
The roar OF these fires was heard
for miles and was likened by some
OF the rangers to the noise Of a thou
sand freight trains crossing simu-
taneously as many steel trestles. Al
many points the fire jumped rivers =
quarter OF a mile wide and in several
instances leaped across canyons
mile or more in width from ridge to
ridge leaving solid strips OF green
timber untouched
AAAhFA0s dElANo anu UAI Hlnk en-
bers were carried many miles The
nearest fire 10 Missoula. Mont, was
about twelve miles yet cinders fell
in the streets and the clouds OF smoke
and ashes were so thick that the elec
trio lights were lit az , o'clock in the
afternoon. The sun shining through
these clouds gave a vivid. lurid glare
as OF a great Confiagration
Due To csrelessness.
There is no excuse for a forest FIRE
All fires started by individuals or by
railroads are attributable 10 careless.
ness. Only fires started by lightning
are beyond human control as 10 their
beginning And in forests properly
patrolled and properly supplied with
trails and phone lines there is little
chance for any fire 10 gain great
headway They don't have great fires
in the great forests OF Europe
So when folks consider that forest
fires have cost us scores OF lives and
millions Of dollars this year. they can
ind only one possible answer 10 the
question Of why they have cost so
dearly
American forests are not guarded
as they should be.
There is many a ranger in the west
who must watch, singlehanded. over
wide tract OF mountain land con
tanning timber 10 the value of $1,000
900 or more The ranger gets si,l00
70 81 200 a year. Pretty cheap insur-
ance for 100000
Here's the secret OF perfect FIRE
control according 10 forestry ex-
perts
ridge and trail system covering
the entire forest
A good watCh.tower system.
4 co-ordinated system OF telephone
lines COY erinR the forest
A fully equipped pack horse train
ready for instant service
Caches OF tools throughout the for
est
A patrol service OF AZ least one
man for every thirty thousand acres
OF heavy timber
CTTTT ANnTuEp OTrTTc