The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Forest Fires

FOREST FIRES. Fire is probably theworst of the many destructive agencies atwork in the forests of the United States.Until recent times, however, the attitude ofsettlers and lumbermen toward fires in thewoods was either one of indifference becausethe supply of timber seemed inexhaustible orof inertia because fires were consideredunavoidable. It required enormous losses of lifeand property to arouse the people to thenecessity of systematic fire protection. During thelast 50 years an annual average of about 70people lost their lives in forest fires and at least$25,000,000 worth of timber a year wasdestroyed. In addition, immense damage wasdone every year to young tree growth, crops,livestock, buildings and improvements, watercourses and the soil. Some of the great fireshave become historical on account of the numberof lives lost or the property destroyed.The Peshtigo, Wis., fire in 1871 burned1,280,000 acres of timber and cost 1,500 humanlives. The Hinckley fire of 1894 burned over160,000 acres in Minnesota, destroyed propertyvalued at $25,000,000 and cost the lives of 418persons; the great Idaho fire in 1910 burned2,000,000 acres of timber and caused the deathof 85 people. But these great fires, thoughthey partake of the nature of national calamities,are not the ones that cause most of thedamage; it is the smaller fires, of which littlenotice is taken but which occur year after yearand with great frequency, that cause the greatestloss in the aggregate. At least 35,000 ofthese occurred in the United States in 1915.It is customary to distinguish three classes offorest fires; surface fires, which burn dryleaves, grass, brush and small trees; groundfires, which burn the vegetable mold; andcrown fires, which burn through the crowns ofthe trees. Surface fires are fought by beatingthem with blankets, gunny sacks, green brush,etc., by throwing water or dirt upon the flames,or by running a trace in front of them by rakingaway the leaves and other litter and thenbeating out the flames when they are checked.Sometimes a furrow is plowed as an emergencyfire line. Ground fires are usually hard tocheck. If the layer of vegetable mold is notvery deep, it may be possible to put out the firewith water or sand. Otherwise it is necessaryto dig a trench down to the mineral soil.Crown fires are very unusual and extremelyhard to check. They usually burn themselvesout, are stopped by some natural obstacle suchas a stream, or are checked by means of backfiring. The most important of the knowncauses of forest fires are lightning, sparks fromlocomotives and carelessness with camp fires,matches, cigarettes, etc. Though lightningcauses a great many fires, much the largerproportion are started through the malice orcarelessness of men and are therefore preventable.The most effective safeguard against fire inthe woods is an enlightened public sentimentin regard to it. Such a sentiment is now beingcreated not only in the national forests andtheir vicinity but, through the co-operation ofthe State and Federal agencies, in othertimbered portions of the country. It is impossibleto prevent all fires, however, and a patrol andfire-fighting system is necessary. Greatprogress in this direction has been made lately.Organized fire protection has been establishedin the national forests and in most of the Stateforest reservations. On the national foreststhe protective system is highly organized andefficient and over 45 per cent of the fires thatstart are put out before they have coveredmore than a quarter of an acre and over 70per cent before they have covered more than10 acres. This result is secured by means ofpatrols and lookouts, the building and maintenanceof roads, trails and telephone linesthrough the forests and the preparation beforethe opening of each fire season of plans forthe mobilization of fire-fighting forces. Thusthe moment a fire is seen by the lookout orpatrol it is necessary only to ascertain its exactlocation, its size and the direction and forceof the wind; the ranger in charge knows fromhis plan just where he can secure most quicklymen and equipment and how to get them to thefire. A number of States have developedsystematic fire protection on private lands throughthe organization of State fire wardens. Insome instances private owners have formedco-operative associations for fire protection andemploy a regular force of rangers for patrolduring the fire season. Fire protection in theStates has been greatly stimulated through theoperation of the Weeks Law. In spite of allthat has been done, however, a large proportionof the forests of the country, particularly thosethat are privately owned, are inadequatelyprotected from fire. SeeForestry in the United States.