Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1911-05-27
FIRES IN THE BLACK HILLS.
Forest Supervisor lines Makes Some
Important Suggestions.

IL lS well TO call the attentlon OF the pu0-
lie to the importance of this FIRE question
and what it must mean to the country
In this vicinity.
During the past year the loss from
forest fires in this country has been tre-
mendous from q financial standpoint.
Aside from this financial loss many
lives have been sacrificed in the attempt
to put under control fires which had got
ten good headway. Fortunately no
lives have been lost in the immediate
vicinity Of the Black Hills in connec-
tion with the fighting of forest fires but
it must be remembered that whenever
forest fire starts, private property as well
as public property for miles around is in
danger. A fire always starts with a
brush fire and if the wind happens to be
high and there is sufficient litter and
brush on the ground the fire is very apt
to be swept into the tops of the trees
and when this occurs it travels fast and
requires large force of men to control
it.
The protection of the Forests from fire
is one of the most difficult propositions
with which the Forest Service has to
deal and to be successful in this it is of
the utmost importance that the Service
should have the hearty cooperation of
the public. The Black Hills (S) Forest
has been divided into five districts and
each district is in charge of Forest
Ranger. AS soon as fire is discovered
the person discovering it should imme-
diately report it to the nearest Ranger
or Forest officer and should give him as
definite information as to size ofthe fire,
its location, and the best road to take to
reach it as is possible to give. The For
est officer to whom fire is reported will
Immediately take steps to control the
fire and will send crew of men to the
scene. When mans private property
as for instance a saw mill is in danger
from forest FIRE it is expected that the
owner of the mill and his employees will
fight the fire free of compensation by the
Forest Service, but when others are call
ed in to help they will be paid for their
labor by the Service.
One thing in connection with the fight
ing of fires which deserves special men
tion is "back-fring." Back-fring is
dangerous and it often happens that a
back-fre gets away from the men and
becomes worse menace than the fire
which was the cause of the back-fire be-
ing set. A person setting back-fire as
sumes the responsibility for the damage
that may result if the fire gets away and,
therefore, back-fre should rarely be
set except under the direction of For
est officer. If it should happen that a
Forest officer was not on the ground and
the fire becomes so bad that back k-fring
is a necessity great care should be taken
to see that too much fire is not set out at
one time. A back-fre should never be
set before good fire line has been clear
ed by shoveling back the litter until the
bare ground is exposed. Before setting
the back fire heavy brush which is with.
in the fire line and which has not caugh,
fire should be thrown outside of the line
If this is possible 30 that the fire will moi
become too hot along the line, which
must be watched after being fred to see
that sparks do not get across and start Q
new fire. If the line runs up a steer
hill fire should be set out at the top o
the hill and gradually worked down tc
the bottom but it should not be started
until the line has been completed to tht
top of the hill. By following this pro
cedure the danger of the fire gettini
away from the control of the men who
are guarding it will be reduced to the
minimum.
In fighting fire the head of the fir'
should be attacked first where possibl,
and if this can be controlled the wing
can be handled with little difficulty
When the fire has been surrounded by
good fire line and when the ground ha
become cool enough so that it is posi- BIZ
to travel it, all burning snags of an!
considerable height which could posi-
bly, throw sparks over the fire line shoul,
be cut down.
Aside from the losses from fire tha
are apparent to all there is another loss
the importance of which is often over
looked by the general public and that
, the loss of young forest growth. In
country which is in its early stages {
development as the Black Hills, timbe
is often so abundant that it is not value
as it should be and no regard is paid I
the reproduction. Every fire wipes OF
large amount of young growth and th
means that an additional ten to twent
years must be added to the time when
forest crop can be reaped from certai
areas which can never be used for an
, purpose except forest growth. The fol
ssts of the Black Hills form an isolate
patch of timber and in the near futur
: their value will be greatly enhanced 9
I the population of the State increases.
is, therefore, imperative that forest fire
I should be extinguished as quickly q
Q possible both to prevent loss of privat
property and to insure the Black Hill
of good supply of timber in the futur,
-
o Do you Have the Right Kind of Help
4 Foley Kidney Pills furnish you tn
/. right kind of help to neutrsliSe and rt
). move the poisons that causes backach,
: headache, nervousness, and other kic
J. Eney and bladder ailments" A.
IJones.