The daily sentinel., 1914-02-21
MANY FOREST FIRES IN
COUNTRY; GOOD CONTROL;
INTERESTING REPORT

natiohal forests fought $500 !.
= fires, or nearly twice as many as (.
started in 1912. the best year :.
. the forests ever had. =
= 6, q g gss
Notwithstanding the great increase
IN the number of fires. Forester
Graves considers that the showing
MADE by the forest service was quite
as favorable as that In the preceding
year, because the damage done and
the costs of fire fighting were no
greater proportionately than in 1912
IN both years practically so per cent
OF all fires were detected and extin-
guished before they burned over a
quarter of an acre, and 25 per cent
OF both years fires we're put out be-
fore they covered 10 acres. OF last
year fires, 3,21S, or considerably
more than the whole number of fires
In 1912. were confined to areas of
less than 10 acres. and In 1880 ad-
ditional fires less than 800 damage
was done by each. In only rs fires
did the damage amount to $1,000.
The aggregate loss in timber is es-
timated at nearly 50 million board
feet, valued at about $4,000, and
the damage to young growth and for
age is estimated at about $4,000.
making q total of about $4,000.
About s per cent OF this loss. how
ever, was incurred on private lands
within the forests where 1 6 per cent
of the fires had their origin.
One encouraging feature is that
the total number of fires set by
railroad locomotives was scarcely
more than in the preceding year and
represented only 2 per cent of all
fires, as against nearly 9 per cent
in 1912; also the proportion set by
sawmills and other engines in the
woods was considerably less than in
1912. This indicates very plainly,
MIR. Graves says, that the public is
awakening to the need OF spark ar
rosters and care with engines in the
woods.
Looking for the reason of the in
crease in number of fires, the forest
er finds three main causes:
First of all. the unprecedented
electric storms which swept the
whole state of California at the end
OF n long dry season and set. almost
simultaneously. about ZOO fires. The
S04 fires set by lightning in Cali
fornia formed nearly so per cent of
the .62S fires on the national for
ests of the state from all causes, and
were more than half of the 1.571
lightning set fires in all the 81 states
reporting.
In the second place, there were
757 fires which started outside the
forests, of which G44 were stopped by
the governments fire fighters before
they reached the forest boundaries.
as against 424 which started on out
side areas in 1912. However, the
proportion OF such fires to all those
which the service battled with was
about the SAME for 1912 and 1913.
The other increased cause of fires
was mechanism, but this increase
was confined to three states. Arkan-
sas, California, and Oregon. all others
showing marked decrease. OF the
452 incendiary fires. 1873 were in
Arkansas, 1913 IN California. and t42
In Oregon, where two brothers were
known TO have set az on one forest
alone. These and other incediaries
were, of course, severely dealt with
by law. On the Arkansas forest, too,
it has been assumed that the 351
fires ciassed under the general head
ing of origin unknown" were large
ly incendiary. In California the in
cendiary fires are largely attribute
ult W WHAT - hhbM II 10 lAAt llkliA-
burning theory" which advances the
argument that forests should be
burned over frequently to prevent
the accumulation of debris. The for
est service considers this pernl-
cious theory because ii scars the
standing timber and thus reduces its
value; it robs the forest soil of its
ability to retain moisture and effect
ually prevents the reproduction of
the forest, since such fires destroy all
tree seedlings before they have a
chance to get start.
In 1912, lightning caused moro
fires than any other agency followed
closely by railroads. campers and in
cendiaries. in the order given. In
1918. however, the fires caused by
lightning outnumbered the next near
est cause by more than three to one,
but the order-railroads campers
and ndiaries-remained the
same as in 1912. A considerable de-
crease in the proportion set by rail-
roads and campers indicates, accord
ing to forest officers, q growing care
fitness on the part of the general
public.
Last year, as in 1912, California
led all others in number of fires, this
lead being natural because California
has such long dry season. 1t was
followed by Arkansas. Arizona and
Oregon, in the order named. Kan
sas, which had only one fire in 1912.
escaped without any in 1918. North
Dakota repeated its record of 1912
and had no fires on its one small
forest. Not single severe fire oc-
Cured during the year in district 4.
which includes Utah, Nevada ana
southern Idaho. and in which large
proportion of the forests reported no
fires at all
There was proportionately greater
loss on private lands within the for
est boundaries than on the public
lands. IT is pointed out by the for
est officers that these lands cover
approximately IL per cent of the to-
tai area included within the forest
boundaries. yet the area burned over
on these private lands was more than
% per cent of all. The forest sery-
ice expended more than 100000 in