The mirror., 1919-09-11
EPORTS from Washing
ton seem to indicate that
the air service is going to

+A9SlN ton seem to indicate that
NNRA&gH the air service is going to
10y pieces rapidly from vari-
Gus causes and that September
will practically see the last of it.
This is especially to be regretted
in view of the recent numerous,
extensive and disastrous forest
fires in the Northwest. The lesson
of these fires is that the national
forests and national parks must be
patrolled by airplanes and pro-
tected by wireless telephone.
Time is vital factor in fighting
forest fires. They must be
detected instantly and combated
promptly. Once a forest fire gains
sufficient headway the flames con-
vert each live pine into a gas re-
tort and the flaming gas, carried
by the wind, jumps far ahead of
the fire line, to start new fires.
Also, a forest fire will run up a
mountain slope with tremendous
speed, creating it's own draft as it
goes.
Airplane service would instantly
detect a forest fire. 1t would reach
the spot promptly. with smother
ing gas, firefghters, tools. pro-
visions and materials. If the
national forests and national parks
are worth creating and administer
ing, they are worth preserving.
The ordinary forest fire is calam-
ity. The big one is catastrophe.
In twinkling the growth of gen.
erations is gone. Where a forest
stood there is desolation which will
last for many a year. The losses
in money this season, saying moth
of the menace to human life,
would pay for an extensive air ser.
vice equipment.
That there is distinct and i'm
portant place for aircraft in fire
protection of timberlands has been
regarded by the forestry officials
for some time as beyond doubt. 1t
was with this idea in mind that
arrangements we're made to have
army airplanes and captive bal
looms cover portions of the na-
tional forests of California, Arizo-
ma, New Mexico and other states
this summer. The patrolling was
started early in June and has so
quickly proved it's worth, that it
was proposed to extend the service
to other points in the East, in
cluding one near the White noun
tains in New Hampshire.
No difficulty is experienced by
the airmen in detecting fires in
heavy timber from elevations of
6, 900 to 10000 feet.
At present the forest service
relies for the detection of fires
partly on patrol, usually by men
on horses, motor cycles, or rail-
road speeders, and partly on
watchers stationed on lookout
points. Aircraft have many points
of obvious superiority over this
method.
Lookouts in every broken coun-
try, cut up by deep canons or
where mountain ridges obstruct
the view, or in flat country that
affords no good points of vantage,
are often unable to pick up fires
quickly by the rising smoke, or to
locate them accurately. For pre-
else location the system in use de-
pends on triangulation through re-
ports telephoned from separate
observation points. Airplanes,
however, can use wireless, or even
the new wireless telephone, and
they can locate fires by coordi-
mates in the same way that gunfre
in war is directed to a particular
spot.
Experiments made in bombing
fires to put them out show the pos
sibilities in this direction. Bombs
charged with suitable chemicals for