East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1922-05-01
SMOKERS CAUSE MANY
FIRES IN FORESTS,
1921 REPORTS SHOW
Cigarette 'Snipes.' Burning
Cigars and Matches Cause
Loss Running to Thousands.

WASHINGTON. d. c.. May L.
Twenty per cent ofNan the forest fires
started By man in the National Forests
Of the West during 1921, were caused
by careless tobacco smokers, accord
ing to figures complied by the Forest
Service. United States Department of
Agriculture. In California. Arizona.
and New Mexico one out of every
four forest fires due to human agen-
lies was started by burning cigarettes,
cigars, matches. or pipe-heels careless
y thrown de by smokers while in
the woods. In other parts of the West
the percentage of smokers fires rang
ed from IL to Is per cent. The total
number of forest fires on the western
National Forests during the past sea-
son was 5.1S1, of which number i.44i
were caused by lightning. 1872 by
smokers. and 1855 by other human
agencies.
Careless smokers, foresters point
out, are responsible for one of the
most serious fire hazards in the coun-
try, because they fail TO take proper
precautions with burning tobacco and
matches. The preventable fire waste
Of all kinds from these causes averages
more than s1S.0O0.000 a year. accord
ng to figures published by the Nation
al Boardof Fire Underwriters. The
tailor made" cigarette is the prin-
cipal offender in the woods, where Il
Glowing "snipe" thoughtlessly thrown
'own on the forest floor may cost the
public thousands of dollars for fire
lighting, to say nothing of the value of
timber destroyed, the desolatlon of
scenic beauty spots, and the harm
lone to waterflow and wild life.
Disastrous results from smoking In
the'woods are most to be feared when
the iuflammable material that Is near
" everywhere present becomes very
dry. In the west this condition Is gen.
orally chronic throughout the sum
mer. The increasing popularity of the
National Forests. which were visited
last year by more than 5,250,0O0 mo-
torists, tourists, and sportsmen, makes
the prevention and control Of smokers
fires more and more difficult. To les
sen the fire risk. and to set good
example, the forest rangers and other
field officers of the Forest Service
have very generally pledged themsel-
YES not to smoke In the woods in re-
gions and seasons of danger.
Repeated efforts have been made
by the Forest Service, the National
Board OF Fire Underwriters, and oth-
er organizations to enlist the coopera-
ton of tobacco manufactures and
packers In educating smokers to be
careful with burning tobacco. Some
of these organizations hold that since
the hazard Of fire is inseparable from
the use Of smoking tobacco, moral
obligation rests on manufacturers or
packers OF tobacco to enclose fire.
warning slips with their products.
Resolutions embodying this sentiment
have been passed by the National Con.
vention of Insurance Commissioners
the Fire Marshals' Association soi
North America, the international As
sociation of Fire Engineers, and the
Railway Fire Protection Association.
In Canada, tobacco manufacturers
are now enclosing little red fire.
warning slips in their cigarette pack
ages. Similar slips featuring care
with fire in the home and in the for
est are also inserted in match boxes
by one Of the largest match companies
and in cartridge packages BY num-
ber Of the Leading small arms and am
munition manufacturers Of the United
States.