Gunnison news-champion., 1913-08-01
Some Government
Methods q Fight
ns Forest Fires

The SUPPRESSION ct hses an the tsm-
tseEee FeSlans 10 one II the esssne
objecss 81 the foEess servsoe. The
ioressed regions are divided snto
d.-lr.cts fs ans parpo-e. and trails
are bssii b reach the shicsiy timber
ed portlsns ct the mountains. In an
effort ~ seaualni the pubic with
some Ut the provisions. the folla~lne
artlcle ,s written by . GunHlsoa
torres, ranger:
The conservation of cur natural
resourees involves an interest that
should he roosed Al every individual
to the extent of the individuals
worsh e. citizen In the community
in Which be hives aad Of the state ~
. whole. Necessity for ssch insesest
is being more and more realized and
ls sspecislly impressed uroa the
psbi,e vish each outbreak of Ere IN
the public lands.
Each year aoss or less timber,
which can be replaced only after
years II combined effort Cd the part
of the psople aud the state, is de-
stvcyed BY hss. These fires have
their erl9ln In various sosrces, some
Of which can be overcome if every
one Who uses the public lands will
exert "a effort along that particular
line and ksep public welfsse in
mind.
Mot in all cases cen the cause Of
Use be controlled, - for instance.
they sometimes start from lightning
and other inevitable causes In
ssch cases the only alternative is
prompt action toward extermination,
aided by thorough knowledge Of
the country in which the damage
will be done. To supply this know
ledge Of certain country within the
Gsnnison National forest is the eb-
ject Of this article.
The forest. for convenience, is
divided into districts, and each dis
trict is supplied with trails and
roads witch lead to the most inn
portant bodies Of timber, and in
most cases. touches upon the sub
ordinate portion Of the woodland.
The district with which this ar
tlcle deals, comprises the territory
within the forest directly north of
Gunnison, Colorado, between the
third Correction Line south and the
northern boundary of the Forest
The next boundary is the lth Guide
Meridian west and the east boundary
is the Forest boundary which is a
mile west of Crested Butte, Colorado.
Most Of the timber is contained
within the southern and central
parts of the district, although the
western and northern parts are COW
cred with moderately heavy forest.
These parts are separated by thigh
mountain ridges, which are heavily
timbered and form the principal
forest of the district.
Boxes, in which tools, for use in
fighting fire, are kept, have been To-
Gated at the most convenient places
throughout the district. These boxes
are kept sealed and are to be opened
only in case of fire. Ii should be
the interest of everyone to suppress
any FIRE that NAV be discovered,
either by his own personal efforts OF
by reporting the discovery to the
nearest County, State or Forest ofiie-
er, as soon as possible after the dis
covery is made. The roads and trails
kept up by the Forest Service, make
any portion of the district accessible
80 that it is not difficult 20 locate or
reach FIRE that might break out
anywhere in this section.
All the main trails will be posted
with metal signs so that it will be
very easy to determine ones location
when upon this district, making
erroneous description of location al
most impossible, even though the
party be q stranger to the country.
Although the Forest Service
maintains . systematic Gre patrol
during the dry Seasons of the year,
there is still room for the assistance
of everyone who feels that the pre-