The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-08-13
Extra Care is Nov Taken
To Pre1ent Forest Fires
Uncle Sans Men Keep Day
and Night Vigil in National
Preserves.

time when forest fires are most NUM-
erous and DISASTROUS. There are the
dryest months of the year on the Pa
citic slope and in consequence the
grass and brush in the forest are tin
der dry and offer the least resistance
to fire.
Throughout the dry season, which
begins about April and extends
through the early part Of November,
according to the latitude of the diff
ferent states, the forest service of the
department Of agriculture increases
its working forces until it has a host
Of men throughout the ranges ever on
| the alert for fires. These additional
forces augment the regular range
force which is on duty the year
around.
Constant Vigilance,
Both day and night this large force
Of Uncle Sans is wakeful and watch
full to detect the dread element that
annually causes vast damages TO for
est and to property of settlers and
thus results in an enormous waste
that must be kept TO the least possible
figure. At night time the reflection
of the flames makes detection easier
than during the daylight hours when
a wisp of smoke at a not easily deter
mined point is all that may herald a
disastrous blaze.
These v|igilant guardians Of the ma
tional forests serve their country with
as much fidelity as do the regulars and
volunteers on the Mexican border. Ere
%quently, in the midst of a serious for
est confagration; they risk their lives
as frequently as do the soldiers, but in
a less spectacular manner. Fighting a
forest fire has less the elements Of
romance than a furious cavalry or
infantry charge that results in the
capture of an enemy trench.
Watch from Towers.
High up on some lonely peak. far
from the centers of civilization, stands
a high watch tower that daily is the
post of a forest ranger who with pow
erful binocular and telescopes is on
the lookout for the thin, t~ell-tale ban
ner of vapor that tells its WI story
Of the fight ahead to the watcher. On
pther peaks there are similar watch
towers and the watchers here, too,
may mark the rising column Of
smudge from afar. All report to a
central station where the fire is ac-
curately located.
At each watch tower there Is a cir
cular map Of the district within the
view of that particular tower. BY
triangulation on this map the watch
err notes the direction of the fire from
his tower. The other watch towers
do the same and all report to the CEN
trail station these various directions.
Where the t~riangulation lines meet on
the great map of the central station,
there the fire is. 1t is simple and yet
a most effective method. The fire is
located, the fighting forces Of the dis
trict are modified and the battle be-
gins. 1t may he short and it may
last for weeks. but it is fought none
the less relentlessly.
Miles Of Wires.
Stretching in every direction from
the central ranger stations are miles
Of telephone and telegraph wires that
are used in time Of danger to mobil-
ize the fire fighting army. Once the
call has been made they come from
every direction prepared to combat
the common enemy. Frequently these
fires occur within a short distance
Of small villages and towns and
then the problem becomes more COM
pick in that the homes once aflame
are extinguished with greater difficult
ty.
Recently the weather bureaus in all
the states have begun lending a hand
in preventing forest fires. Reports Of
the direction of winds, whether they
are strong or light, + daily sent to
the forest service in the various dis
tricts for distribution. The probability
Of rain or continued dryneSs also
form the subject Of weather bureau
bulletins to the service.
Besides the use of the telephone and
telegraph the forest rangers also use
the photograph with which they are
able to send flashes of sunlight many
miles to bring aid. These are where
telephone and telegraph lines are not
yet available. At centrally located de-
pots are caches Of dynamite that also
are used for signalling purposes. At
these depots are stored materials for
fire fighting purposes and highly spec
ialized apparatus.
Campers Are Restricted,
Rigid rules have been laid down for
persons camping in the woods and the
fire permit system has lessened the
number of fires very appreciably. The
greatest loss comes from the negligent
pleasure-seekers who drop lighted
matches in the grass and low brush.
The fire permit cards can be obtained
either at the general Office or of any
ranger and there is no expense at
tached to it. The good accomplished
by this arrangement appears in the
fact that when a fire breaks out 1t is
possible to know who had a permit to
build a fire in that territory, for a
close record is kept Of the permits
issued. The fire permit card author
ICES the holder to build camp fires
on the national forest land between
certain dates, provided the following
requirements are complied with; To
build small fires only; to build fires
in the open and not against a tree or
log or within twenty feet Of standing
brush; to scrape away all leaves and
trash from around the fire; to never
leave a fire unattended even for a
short time without first extinguishing
it; to extinguish fires first water, then
cover with dirt; bonfires are not al
lowed. 1t is further provided that