10
TIIE MORNIXG OREGOXIAN, tflURSDAT, JANUARY 1, 1920.
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OREGON'S IMMENSE FORESTS NOW PROTECTED FROM FIRE BY AIRPLANE PATROLS
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y-Latest Preventive and Fighting Facilities Are Installed to Keep Guard Over State s Magnificent Stand of Choice Timber Experiments of the Past Season Prove Success of Plan to Watch V ast Areas From the Sky
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1 est development in forestry is tha kept in action, and the air service was : , fSJJ
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this work may be accomplished in
practically three weeks' time.
Should the plan frtr the combined
patrol of the five states be approved
by the air service, primary control
stations will be established at Eugene,
Or.; 'Camp Lewis, Wash.; Mather
field, near Sacramento, Cal., and one
other in Idaho or Montana, not yet
selected. The Oregon sub-bases will
be located1 at Portland, Salem, Eu
gene, Roseburg, Medford, Klamath
Falls, Prineville, Marshfield and La
Grande.
To accommodate the larfre DeHav
iland ships, the landing fields must
be at least 2000 by 1000 feet, 'free
from obstructions, such as trees, tel
ephone lines, etc., and located on a'
level or fairly even slope of sod or
firm soil. Several such fields have
already been provided through the
efforts of local commercial or aero
clubs and by public-spirited citizens,
and are located at Portland, Salem,
Eugene, Roeeburg and Medford.. The
advisability of going to any great ex
pense of providing emergency land
ing fields along the patrol routes In
the mountainous regions Is not con
sidered practical by the air service
officials, since, they state, that such
fields are apparently never located
near where trouble occurs.
The mechanical success of the
planes is beyond question, when the
figures are considered regarding the
distance covered by the Oregon pa
trol in 1919. The first patrol started
August 2 and continued until August
22, during which time seven Curtiss
type planes were used, four ships
making two two-hour trips each day,
flying at an average speed of 60 miles
an hour and making a total distance
of 20,160 miles during the 21 uninter
rupted flying days.
On August 23 the Curtiss planes
were replaced by the larger DeHavi
land type, because they can remain
in the air nearly twice as long. This
type of plane was found to be more
efficient andi continued the patrol
work until October 7, when the fall
rains and cool nights made further
patrol unnecessary for the season.
The DeHaviland planes are American
made and contain a 400-horsepower
Liberty motor' and are capable of
traveling at the rate of 120 miles an
hour. Although a more difficult plane
to handle than the Curtiss type, they
have a much greater gas and oil
carrying capacity and can safely re-
main for a period of four hours in '
the air.
During the 35 actual patrol days
by these five new ships, two flying
six hours each day at an average
speed of 95 miles per hour, they cov
ered a distance of f39,900 miles. The
combined distance flown by the Cur
tiss and DeHaviland planes during the
66 patrol days amounted to approxi
mately 60,060 miles, or more than
twice the distance around the earth.
This distance was traversed with
only six forced landings; three due to
inclement weather, and resulting. In
one wrecked plane. The other three
were caused by motor trouble, result
ing in the loss of on officer and the
total loss of one ship.
The entire operating expense was
borne by the air service. The state
and federal forest service arranged
the plan of patrol and gave the pilots
and observers the benefit of their
knowledge in fire detection and sup
pression, gained through years of ex
perience. They also provided landing
fields, arranged for gasoline and
guards for planes at sub-stations,
provided transportation for the men
to and from the fields, and co-operated
with the air service In every
way possible.
The area of effective visibility de
pends somewhat upon the atmos
pheric conditions and the altitude of
the plane. At a height of 10,000 feet
under fair observation conditions, a
very small fire may be easily picked
up at a distance of 30 miles.
It is during smoky weather that the
airplane patrol Is much more ad
vantageous than the lookout system.
Neither smoke nor a difference of
several thousand feet in altitude hin
ders the visibility as much as one
would suspect. With the lookout sys
tem, there is nearly always a section
of the country back of the ridges
which cannot be seen; with the air
plane all regions are equally visible..
The airplaine is not only effective
for locating new fires, but as the past
season demonstrated, is extremely
valuable in reporting progress on
large fires or in exactly locating a
group or series of small scattered
ones. Experience has shown that a
trained observer, after a reconnais
sance from the air, can gain more
useful information about the char
acter of a large fire than can a man
on the ground in a heavily timbered
area. Old fires can be covered each
day to see that they do not break out
anew.
At present It is not deemed ad
visable to reduce the regular patrol
and lookout personnel. However, these
men may be used more advantageously
and, instead of being on-patrol duty,
may be bunched on improvement and
construction work; each working crew
to be provided with a telephone set
and fire-fighting equipment so that
upon report of a fire they may pro
ceed without loss of time as an or
ganized flre-flghting crew.
Observers' Responsibility Iarge.
The success of this new patrol de
pends principally upon the accuracy
of the observer in locating the fire
and the rapidity with which he re
ports the fire to the district ranger
or warden in whose district the fire
is located.
The accuracy with which a fire can
be located depends upon the experi
ence of the observer and the correct
ness of the maps with which he Is
provided. The state forester will pro
vide CQmplete cover maps of Oregon,
ehowing the timberland. old burns,
brush, cutover or farm lands and will
Include the location of all principal
roads, streams, cities and railroads.
Next season, the air service offi
cials plan to start the patrol at least
one month before the beginning of
the fire season In order than the pilots
and observers may familiarize them
selves with their duties and the coun
try over which they will maintain
the'patrol. It is during this instruc
tion period that it is planned to pho
tograph the forested regions of the
state. These photographs will be as
sembled in map form and be used In
connection with other maps for the lo
cation of fires.
The lapse of time between the dis
covery of a forest fire and the action
taken for Its suppression, is a most
decided factor in any fire-fighting
plan.
Army planes equipped with wireless
telephone sets will overcome this new
need of rapid communication. The
United States forest service has been
successfully experimenting In the use
of wireless telephones on Mount Hood
and other lookout points. It is ex
pected that by next season such prog
ress will have been made in the ex
periments as to make their use prac
tical. However, should it be found
impossible to obtain the necessary
wireless equipment, message dropping
by the planes can be successfully de
veloped. A panel system of identification will
be worked out by which each district
ranger headquarters and lookout point
will be given an identification mark.
A black and white square 30 by 30
feet will be located near the district
ranger's headquarters and on all prom
inent lookout points. A correspond
ing legend will be indicated on the
observer's map, so that he may pick
up his exact location.
. , By F A. Elliott, State Forester. , and personnel at their disposal. These
T MAY be safely said that the lat- pilots, mechanics and planes must be
est development in forestry is tha kept in action, and the air service was
use of airplanes in patrolling Ore- anxious to determine the possibility
g-on's timber resources for the deteo- 0f performing a real and valuable forest boundaries and will conform
tion of forest fires. service in conjunction with their reg- to tne general topography and char
"Experiments along this line were ulations, which provide that each acter of the forest covered through
carried on during the past summer pilot spend a certain amount of time out tne five states. California and
by the air service branch of the war in the air. The men on airplane pa- Oregon were the only states to re
department, working in co-operation trol in Oregon last season are highly celve aid from the war department in
wjtn the united states forest service enthusiastic over the experiments and lrP'a"8 pairoj curing
ana tne Oregon state board or for- eager to become efficient in this new
estry. line of work, while the forestry offi-
For Oregon alone one complete ob
servation squadron will be required
000,000 acres of timber, brush and
cut-over land which constitute a fire
risk. This squadron will consist of
; Last season's work may be classed cials are extremely optimistic over to sustain a daily patrol of the 28.-
as an experiment by the different the possibilities of organizing an ef
sttrvices to determine the advisability ficient patrol system for the coming
of maintaining such a natrol from year vear.
to year, would airplane patrol prove Meetings of representatives from x" i""" most propaoiy, or me ue-
tobethe more economic and effec- the air service, state, federal and Havlland type, 180 men, from 30 to
tive,-eventually replacing the patrol private forest protective organiza- officers, carrier pigeon lofts, and
a ndJtaokout system now employed for tions are being held and plans for- will include a photographic and radio
forest fire detection and suppression? mulated for 1920. It is very probable "aecUn.
These and many other questions, were that the war department will give Photography Will Be Tried,
in the minds of the men charged with further assistance next season and Besides maintaining a daily patrol
the protection of Oregon's timber that a system of airplane patrol will during the fire season, it is planned
when the planes were first intro- cover Oregon, California, Idaho, Mon- to photograph the entire forest area,
duced. tana and Washington. Such a patrol With the special aerial photographic
-The air service had available planes will disregard all state and national appliances now In use by the armv.
51
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