The Cordova daily times., 1916-08-12
FIRE FIGHTERS IN FORESTS ARE
 :. V|G|LANT

|
 treme vigiiance is the order of the day throughout the forest service in all the western states in which there are national forests because August and September are rated the critical
 time when forest fires are most nu
 merous and disastrous. These are the
 dryest months of the year on the Pa
 cific Slope, and in consequence the grass and brush fin the forests 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. accord ing to the latitude of the different states, the forest service of the de- partment Of agriculture increases its working forces until 1t has a host Of men throughout the ranges ever on the alert for fires. These addition al forces augment the regular range force which is on duty the year round.
 Both day and night this large force of Uncle Sam's is wakeful and watch ful to detect the dread element that annually causes vast damage 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 than during the daylight hours, when thin whisp of smoke at a not easily determined point Is all that may her aid disastrous blaze.
 These vigilant guardians of the ma tional forest reserve serve their coun- try w,ah as much fidelity as do the regulars and volunteers on the Mexi- can borders. Frequently. in the midst of serious forest conflagration, they risk their lives as frequently as do the soldiers. but in a less spectacular manner. Fighting a forest fire has less the clements of romance than furious cavalry or infantry charge that results fin the capture Of an enemy trench.
 High up on the dome of lonely peaks far from the centers of civilization, stands a high watch tower that daily is the post of forest ranger who, with powerful binocular and telescope Is on the lookout for the thin, telltale banner of yapor that tells its own story of the fight ahead to the watch CT. On other peaks taere 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 cuiar map of the district within the view of that particular tower. By tri- angulatiOn on this may the watcher notes the direction of the fire from his tower. The other watch towers 1 do the same. aud all report to the central station these various direc- tions. Where the trEangulation lines meet on the great map Of the central 1 station there the fire is. fl is simple and yet a most effective method. The fire located, the fighting forces of ' the district are mobilized and the battle begins. It may be short and it may last for weeks. but 1t Is fought none the less relentlessly.
 \ Stretching in every direction from ahe central stations are miles of tele- 'phone and telegraph wires that are used in time of danger to mobilize the fire fighting army. Once the call has been made they come from every di- rection prepared to combat the com mon enemy. Frequently these fires occur within short distance from sawmills, villages and towns, and then the problem becomes more complex in that the homes once afiame are ex- tinguished with greater difficulty.
 Recently the weather bureaus in all the states have begun lending a hand in preventing forest fires. Re ports of the direction of winds, whe- ther strong or light, are daily sent to the forest service in the various districts for distribution. The pro babiiity of rain or continued dryness also form the subject of weather bu- reau bulletins to the service.
 Besides the use of the telephone and telegraph the forest rangers also use the heiiograph with which they A