The news=record. [volume] (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon) 1907-1910, 1910-11-19
FORESTS
FROM BIG FIRES
PLAYS IMPORTANT
PART IN FIGHTING scouReE
OF TIMBER. -

Every year seems to bring up fore
IDLY the need fer more extensive
systms Of projections against fire In
the national forests of the far west
and northwest. The discOtersof this
summer point to the fact th&t more
! safeguards must be thrown about
the wooded areas OF the country If
a repetition of the recent fires is to
be avoided.
! Tor 1t is a fact that q ye2rs fires
burn away more of the precious wool
Lands than would be taken to sup
ply the timber needs Of the country
for quite few years. Added to THIS,
and even mc-e urgent as reason
I for action, is the enormous loss OF
life and property involved in a fire
lie that of this summer.
Iu some cases in the n@donal for
ests. according to Chief Forester
E.cnry c. Graves, single ranger has
the responsibility of looking after
T. ore than 100000 acres during the
|
dry season In the forests of Ger
many one guard is kept for every
1900 aeres--in one case even as low
.as 750 acres.
The national forests of the United
States now include almost 5000 900
acres of land and to look after ohese
a force of 5000 mel is employed.
This is recognized to be totally IN
adequate for the heavy demcnds. and
each dry spell brings its quota or
disastrous fires to bear out this fact
more strongly.
In the measures that have been
taken to protect the forests from
fire, the telephone has played a very
important part. This part is describ-
ed dn a recent washington dispatch
to number of daily newspapers un-
der the heading thousands of Dol
lars Saved the Government by Tele-
phone" in the following words:
In projecting forest reserves of the
United States from fire the telephone
has become an instrument of salvsut-
ion, and there are many cares on re-
cord in the forestry bun eau where
this modern appl ance has saved IN
Vulnerable lives an1 many hundred
thousand dollars worth of timber.
Experience has taught the offic-
irl5 in charge of the forestry bureau
that it is almost out of the question
10 cope with the forest fires aster
they have been fully started. When
they get a good start and have IA
vorablc conditions, such as brisk
breeze and dry weather, tho flames
sweep Through the forest and over
the surrounding country without
! meeting any great resistance. There
, fore the officials of the bureau have
determined that the only possible way
TO control these fires ~ to prevent
them--that is attack the fire at it's
inception
1t is at this pciit where the tele-
phone gets In lis work and has heri-
ols'srated itself as on important fact-
. or as a T,achine of salvation. AS a
means of preventing fires ald to- dis
cover those which have not gained
any amount of headway, thousands
| of men have been employed annually
, by the government Gs rangers and
.. patrolmen. They are GsSigled to
dlGtricts which they arc called on to
patrol, hut the york CT this patrol
system Gi1 not really bccome effect
i've until the telephone was introducd.
! AS the condition presents itself
. today, forest ra lger leaves his cab
, in in some secluded valley to patrol
the territory a,lote1 to him. His
trslls are well kept, his telephone IS
IN order, with call boxes arrange
every few miles along the path and
I fire lanes, and at ob5eryation towers.
,, F-e reaches sIot where a party CT
rrospec.ors or others have beol camp
ing end have LETT their camp fire
without extinsuishing 1t. Since their
! departure and prior TO The appear
: a1ce OF the ranger the fire has ex-
, tended along the ground In the dry
. fo-est carpet and assumed proper
, tSo1s~ too great for him to handle
alone, though his effors mcy be SUI.
ficient TO check the flames for a
/ short period. The ranger can re-
! main and fight the fire aIoae and
! wait for the arrival OF other rangers
who have been attracted by the
smoke, or he can ride to the near
est telephone box and send ont al
} emergency call.
, Before the days of the telephone
the ranger after discovering the blaze
was compelled to ride TO the near
est settlement, which might have