The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1910-11-11
The LOSSES OF TIMBER
The Department of Agricul-
ture Makes Estimate of
Losses by Forest
Fires

\ rough estimate of the fire loss
upon the National Forests in Montana
and northern Idaho, upon which the
Forest officers of the I. S. Depart
ment of Agriculture have been en-
gagged since the fires were put out,
puts the total amount of timber
killed or destroyed in this one district
at over 6 billion board feet, while the
area burned over is put at over IA
million acres.
The heaviest losses were in two
Idaho Forests. the Occur d Alene,
where over billion board feet of tim
Der are reported killed or destroyed
and over 40 thousand acres burned
over. and the Clearwater, where l
billion feet Of timber were killed or
destroyed and 800 thousand acres
burned over. On the Helena Nation
al forest, in Montana. the loss in tim
Der is believed to have been 500 mil
lion feet. on the Cabinet Forest 400
million, and on the Lolo Forest 800
million.
A large part of the losses on the
Occur d'Alene. Clearwater and Lolo
were due to wha- became practically
one great fire The burn is shown on
the Forest Service maps as extending
in northwesterly and southeaSterly
direction from north Of Wallace,
Idaho, to point some 80 miles south
west of Missoula, Mont, or nearly
100 miles. AT its widest point this
burn has a width of about 40 miles,
but its shape is very irregular.
1t was really union Of number
of separate fires, driven to fury by
the fierce hurricane Of August %.
To the west Of the Idaho Montana
boundary in the region OF this fire
lies very inaccessible mountainous
country, into which, on account Of
the absence of trails and of forage, it
was almost impossible for forces of
fire fighters to penetrate. When the
hurricane arose it drove the fires up
on the parties which were hewing a
way towards them, forced these
parties to seek refuge wherever it
could be found, and swept down upon
the forests where the fires were up to
that time generally we'll in hand.
The extensive losses are ascribed to
the combination of hurricane and
lack of means to get to the fires and
put them oul before the storm came.
On the Forests which were best
equipped for controlling fires the re,
suits achieved are regarded as a dem.
onstration of the efficacy of the fire
fighting methods employed, even un
der highly adverse natural conditions
Forester Graves believes that, as
usually happens in the case of big
fires there will be found to be con
siderable areas of living timber with
in the regions now mapped as entirely
burned over. OF necessity, the figure.
given are tentative, for it has beer
impossible to examine all the burnec
areas thoroughly. AS fast as possible
however, the Forest officers are locat
ing and estimating the bodies of tim
Der killed but capable of being lum
bered, if taken in time. There viii
be an enormous quantity of fire
: killed timber, both on the Nationa
Forests and on private lands, to b.
disposed of as soon as possible, sine
if not marketed quickly it will not b.
worth cutting at all.
The Department of Agriculture
will push vigorously to dispose of thi
fire-killed timber. AS with all othe
National Forest timber, it will be OF
,, the stump, to millmen who lumbe
the land, paying set price per thou
; and board feet for the timber, an,
conforming to whatever regulation
are stipulated in the interest of tn
forest. Pending the disposal of thi
tire-killed timber, future sales O
green timber from the National Fol
:. ests which were badly burned las
: summer will probably be greatly re
= stricted, if not entirely suspended.
: Since the amount to be disposed q
is doubtless greater than can b
marketed in any event, and since i
is better for the country that til
timber should be utilized than tina
Y it should go to waste in the woods
o the price at which it will be sold vii
II be lower than would be asked for til
s timber under ordinary circumstances
Generally speaking, Secretary Wilsol