The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-05-10
HOW TO FIGHT
FOREST FIRES
Timber Owners and Lumber Mill
Operators Of California, Ore
gon, Washington, Idaho and
Montana, Issue Some Simple
Rules for the Protection of
Their Interests


estry and Conservation association,
composed of the principal timber
owners and lumber mill operators in
California, Oregon, Washington. Ida
no and Montana, and headed by
Judge Albert L. Flewelling of Spo-
kane. has issued a pamphlet regard
ing the needs and methods of saving
life and property from destruction in
forest fires, and urging the observ-
ance of the following simple rules:
Don't toss away burning matches
or tobacco.
Don't make q campfire In leaves,
rotten wood or against logs, where It
may spread or where you cannot be
sure it is out.
Don't burn a slashing in the dry
season without a permit and without
taking care to keep the fire from
spreading.
Put out any fire you find, If you
can; if you cannot do SO. notify hre
warden, some other public officer or
the land owner.
The text of the pamphlet consists
of series of questions and answers,
with a view to interesting school
children as we'll as adults in the for
est protection movement.
After showing that the states OF
Oregon Washington, California, lda-
no and Montana contain more than
so per cent of all the timber IN tho
Union, f. T. Allen, forester of the
association, who compiled the data
says:
Next to food itself no product is
so necessary to the human race as
wood People must have it for tuei'
for their houses. barns and fences 10
build ships and railroads. ami TOR al
most every article used by clvlilzeu
man. Having plenty of it, we not
only get all these things cheaper our
selves, but can sell it to other states
and countries which have no forests.
The question and answers follow
in this order:
How important to us is 1t to be
able to supply these other states ana
countries?
THE forests are one Of our chief
means of support, as numbering Is
great industry. 1t brings more than
S125,OOQ.000 q year. or over *332,ooV
a day into California, Washington
Oregon, Idaho and Montana, and al
most all of this immense sum Is PAID
out for labor and supplies, SO tnat
every family shares il. 1t contributes
TO every business we have, to FARMER,
merchant, mechanic and professional
man No other product of these
states. not our wheat. our frult or
our wool, furnishes employment lot
so many people or brings in SO much
money. Lumber makes up 10 per
cent of all the freight we snip out OF
these states by rail or boat
aside from making our lum her IN
dustry SO valuable in what ways are
forests useful?
They keep the flow of our streams
even, preventing floods in wet sea
son and furnishing water TOR lfr'-
CATION and power during the dry sea-
son: they pay taxes to support our
government. our roads and our
schools: they shelter our wild game
and fish. and in many other ways
make our country healthier anu
plea to live in. In most OF our
western states the public Schools are
supported largely by the sale OF TIM
Der from state forest lands.
What would happen if our for
ests were destroyed.
There would be hard times for
every one, for our whole system OF
living has been built UP with use OF
forest and water as one OF Its chlel
foundations. Many industries would
be completely destroyed: all would
suffer seriously. Our public school
system would lose the income from
state timber.
Els there any danger Of this?
Not in a single day or year, but .
very grave danger that 1t Will come
rapidly enough to injure all OF us.
Indeed. we are already being injured
more than we realize
How?
BY wasting our forests instead of
using them. and especially by care
lessly burning them. Although not
always as serious AS they were last
year, forest fires destroy on yearly
average in Oregon, Washington, Ida
no, Montana and California timber
which if saved for manufacture
would bring in $40,000,o0o. We not
only lose this income, but have to
pay higher taxes on the rest OF our
property and higher prices for the
forest material which escapes. These
fires Kill the young trees. so that new
forests cannot follow the old ones
and. by leaving the ground bare, also
hasten the rapid run-off of snow and
rain and make our streams low III
summer. Often the fires destro!
houses, fences and cattle, and many
human lives are lost
What causes these wasteful fires
"Carelessness, almost always. Peo'
pie forget that wind and hot weather
make even the smallest fire spread
beyond control. Thinking no harm
will come of it, they leave the camp
fires burning, throw away burning
matches or tobacco burn slashing OF
brush heaps without watching them
closely. or run logging or railroad
engines without screens to stop the
sparks. At the time they see no dan
ger A few hours or days after
ward the fire spreads and becomes sc
fierce ii cannot be stopped.
IF this is so likely to happen, wny
do not people always think Of it ano
be careful?
Because they do not realize how
much it will injurc them. Sometimes
they think only the owner of the TIM
Der has any interest in the matter
ANA that he ought to take all niece g