Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1932-05-05
RANGERS ARE
FOREST GUARDS
Forest Service Department Gives Re-
port on Work of Forest Rangers,
Lookout Towers.

The Forest Service is one of the
four organizations that comprise Min
nesota's Conservation department., and
its. major responsibility consists of
forest fire prevention in the 23,5OO,0OO
acres of land known as the Forest
Area of this state. The field organi-
cation of the Forest Service consists
of eighteen protective districts which
vary in size from 100000 acres to
100000 acres.
District is the local ranger dis
trict with headquarters at Moose Lake
and takes in parts of Carlton, Aitkin,
Mile Laos, Kanabec counties and all
of Pine county, an area of approx
mately 2,603,52O acres. Of this total
276,4SO acres are in Carlton county,
7S3, 1860 acres in Aitkin county, 276,-
$50 acres in Mile Laos county, 345,-
800 acres in Kanabec county, and
921 800 acres in Pine county. The
personnel of the district consists OF
the district ranger, year long patrol
man, s summer patrolmen, and look
out men who are employed during the
dangerous months of the year.
During fire seasons the lookout men
are stationed in steel towers and
their duty is to scan the horizon for
any suspicious puffs of smoke. Con-
trary to general opinion the forest
patrolmen do not patrol regular beats
in search of new fires, but during
dangerous periods stand by at their
stations ready to take action in the
same manner as city fire department
companies do. Forest guard is more
appropriate name.
When the lookout man discovers
smoke or when someone calls in to re-
port a fire the patrolman is sent out
to organize a crew and eXtinguish
the fire.
The object is to get work started in
the shortest possible time after fire
has been discovered. Many public
service organizations as we'll as indi-
viduals cooperate in this work by
extinguishing small fires and by re-
porting fires that require additional
help. This cooperation is highly val
ued by the Forest service.
In District there are five primary
towers Three of these towers are
built of steel with glass enclosed
crows nest The Moose Lake tower
is located two and one half miles west
of town and is built of steel This
tower is an 81 foot tower and observ
ations from it cover wide area. The
Aitkin tower, an 81 foot tower, is To-
Gated on Highway 80 just south of
Aitkin. There is 80 foot tower
built of wood at the Sandy Lake STA
ton on Big Sandy lake. Another
wood tower of the 80 foot type is
located in Section 5-i4-23 just west
of Highway No. 5. There is also
90 foot steel tower located 13 miles
east of Sandstone. These towers are
all manned during hazardous fire
weather.
Patrolmen are located at the follow
ing stations as we'll as at the head
quarters station-Nickerson, Eagle
head, Onamia, McGrath, Malmo, Ait
kin, and Sandy Lake. The central
warehouse for the district is located
at Moose Lake but each patrol station
has a certain amount of fire fighting
equipment at the disposal of the pa
trolman located there.
Cooperation in forest fire proven
ton is obtained from other state de-
partments, counties, townships, vii
lagos, and cities, as we'll as from the
United States Forest service, timber
owners and other interested organi-
cations and individuals.
District Ranger P. w. Swedberg has
charge of the Moose Lake district Of
the forest service. Mr.. Swedberg has
been with the department for the past
20 years having started as a patrol
man in 1912