The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1922-08-03
MAN WHO STARTED
FIRE is |. W. W.

1t was definitely ascertained last
week that the man who gave his name
as John Smith and who is now serving
80 days in jail for setting the Herman
Creek forest fire is an |. w. w. Crews
of fire fighters searching his cabin on
leased ranch near Wyeth found his |.
W. w. card. 1t was also determined
that the man is an Austrian.
M. j.. Brown, in charge of the Her
man Creek ranger station, says the 10
days of fighting was unusually free
from accidents. One man burned his
eyes slightly. Another suffered broken
ribs in fall and a third sustained
severe cash in one of his legs when he
fell on sharp stick.
Supervisor I. II. Sherrard left the
Herman creek forest fire Thursday for
the first time in a week. 'The Herman
creek fire." he said, sis the most ex-
tensive and expensive in the history of
the Oregon National Forest. The vi
ento fire of some 10 years ago was al
most as bad. We have no idea as yet
Just what the cost this time will run
to, as all of the officials have been too
busy in the actual work in the field to
check the expenses. We have been
paying our men 40 cents an hour and
feeding them"
Mr.. Sherrard says he does not know
how many men have been employed
altogether, but roughly estimates that
at least 500 have been members of the
fire crews at different times. The
maximum number at any one time was
about 10. He has the highest praise
for the men of the O.-W. r. &. N. tie
treating plant, crews of the mill and
logging camps of the Stevenson Lum-
Der 90. and the Reed College students
engaged in the development of the Co
lumbia Gorge Camp of Samuel Lam
caster. A fair percentage of the men
secured through employment agencies
IN Portland also did good work, Mr..
Sherrard says.
al have never in my life seen better
fire fighting," said Mr.. Sherrard.
1.-THE roughness of the country made
the work hazardous and extremely
arduous, but the fellows stuck to their
tasks with an enthusiasm such as |
have never seen. Considering weather
conditions and the rough country, the
work of subduing the FIRE has been
nothing less than marvellous.
Discussing the case of the Austrian,
Mr.. Sherrard says an investigation of
the start Of the fire indicates that 1t
might have been a deliberate plot at
sabotage. The mans |. w. W. card,
photographs of the Centralia outrage
leaders and his diary were found in his
cabin. The diary, il is stated, indi-
Gates that Smith has been engaged in
work of sabotage on former occasions.
The place and method in which the fire
was started has caused officials to ex-
press the belief that it might have
been a deliberate act. although Mr..
Sherrard says it would be difficult to
prove.
The Austrian, according TO the rec
ords in the cabin. has taken out his
first naturalization papers. 1t is likely
that he will be Investigated with a
view to his deportation.
Using a knowledge Of the relative
humidity in the atmosphere to deter
mine the behavior of forest fires in ad-
vance and the best method of combat
ing blazes is the last word in fire fight
ing.
j. V. Hofmann. director Of the ex-
periment station Of the United States
forest service at Stabler, Wash, has
been on the ground Of the Herman
creek FIRE studying the variation Of
forest FIRE behavior with the change in
the humidity Of the air. This is an
entirely new study inaugurated by Mr..
Hofmann and has proved successful
beyond all hopes of the experimenters.
IL has been found. through constant
study and observation, that with low
humidity-little moisture in the air
the blazes rage furiously, regardless Of
the wind conditions; and that the high
er the humidity. the greater the strug-
gle the flames have 10 keep alive. This
conclusion came through the finding
that the blaze did not react to wind
conditions. At times when the winds
were low, the flames thrived, and
when the winds would tear down the
gorge the fire would be little affected.
Thus il was concluded that the COM
narrative dampness Of the air deter
mined the nature Of the FIRE.
In addition 10 this, the theory was
worked upon that the course Of attack
upon q FIRE for the DAY may be mapped
out in the early part Of the day from
the observation Of the humidity. There
are known 70 be certain kinds Of vege-
tation which absorb and discharge
moisture more rapidly than Others.
when the nature Of the vegetation is
taken into secount il may be worked