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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1913)
8 THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, OCTOBER 5, 1913- SI0W THEY 5AFE6UARD TH J TP STATES GREATEST ASSET Prevention Is Keynote of Modern Method of Coping With Destructive Fires in Big Timber Most Fires Are Caught in Incipiency and Stamped Out Before Damage Is Done Organization and Work of Fire-Fighting Service in Oregon j'y .- i - C, -itwuin mm Minn mm -,'W" m"m w mm m. M"i wi" wr'l' KL JF ,1 jrilimai l"T IIT '11 WiWTTT n TTHll I'll fV, - -' - ' ' . BT RAJJDAIO. R HOWARD. RECENTLY, on of the, -forest-fire . fighter of the Northwest saw smoke In the far distance. Ee had climbed to a high lookout point, at the summit of a ragged pinnacle In the Cas cade Mountains. The smoke, as he aft erward learned, was 26 miles distant. Bat It required only a few minutes to definitely locate the spot by means of'one'of the new fire-finding" ln: struments that are being established at certain strategic points in the forests of Oregon and. Washington. Rather, the' location was only partial,, the fire flgher merely reading the angle of an oriented map. - Then, the forest ranger promptly telephoned his fire discovery and the recorded angle to the forest supervisor in Portland. It was not long afterwards that the forest supervisor received another tele phone message. The second message was from a second lookout point In the Cascade Mountains, likewise report ing the discovery of the same distant smoke In the forests. It happened that the second lookout point was a good 20 miles distant but It was a simple matter, as In the first case, to likewise read the angle of the "fire-finding' Instrument by means of the oriented map. Then, the problem of the forest su pervisor in Portland was as simple as two and two. He lightly traced on his office map both of the reported anglea, beginning In each case at the location of the respective lookout stations. The point where the two lines intersected was marked red a forest fire which must be promptly fought. It happened. In this particular illus trative Incident, that the red spot was on privately-owned land, down near the Columbia River. But it was a simle matter to dispatch a -telegram to the of ficial forest supervisor of this county and he promptly set other forest-fire fighting wheels In motion. It was found that the fire had been located within a radius of from a quar ter to a half mile. Of course It was In cidental; so far as running down the forest smoke was concerned, that the flre-flghters were already there. The fire was almost In the middle of a log ging camp, burning two or three don key engines before it was brought un der control. But the Incident was significant. It portrays the new era in the Northwest, the day when Uncle Sam and the state and private timber owners are all co operating in scientifically fighting for est fires, in protecting the most valu able asset of Oregon and Washington. The cardinal fireflghting principle of all these organizations is "prevention." Toward this end, nearly a thousand men are now on fire patrol duty In Oregon. A part of those are trained forest rangers paid by Uncle Sam and on duty all the year. Another part are extra Forest Service Guards, hired only during the Summer months when the forest fire hazard is greatest. But pro portionately the largest group of fire fighters are Jointly hired by the state and. the organized timber owners of the several counties. The duties of these various fire fighting agencies conflict very little. The state. In general, enforces the for est-fire laws in the farming and graz lng districts adjacent to the valuable forest areas. The private timber own ers, through their county and state and Inter-state organizations, assess them selves to protect their own private timber holdings. And the Federal Gov ernment guards the timber of the Na tional forests. It has been only a few years, com paratlvely, since the average West ern' man looked upon our forests much as the careful gardener regards a patch of weeds. Old settlers have confessed that there was considerable friendly rivalry amongst themselves to see who could burn the most trees. The trees shut out the sunshine. prevented the growth of the grass, hence limited their Summer range and their 'herds. When riding through the forests, or when driving their herds from the timbered mountains In the FalL certain old settlers habitually carried extra matches and grass seed the matches to- Increase the burned over area, and the seed to help the grass in getting a start. Even the Indians entered into the spirit of the early-day forest burning with zeaL The motive with the In dian -was different, however. The In dian needed grazing land, but most of all he wanted fresh spots to gather berries. Also, a-forest fire often as sisted him In getting- his Winter sup ply of dried - meat, and the buckskin that he could always trade for white man luxuries. At the summit of the Cascades, near the center of the state, north and south, one may traverse a burned-over area of many square miles. This de structive forest fire was the result of the hunting antics of a band of Warm Spring Indians. They found a location where they could build a string of fires. horse-shoe shape, surounding a favorite feeding ground for deer. Then they waited In the open end of the trap. It is estimated that a thousand shots were fired and three hundred deer killed, taking no acount of the numbers that must have perished in the flames. Before the days of fireflghting rangers, forest fires and smoked-up at raosphere were accepted as a natural accompaniment of Summer. No attempt was made" to fight these fires except ing when they happened to be spread lng toward a settlement or a village. Besides not foreseeing the future value of timber, the average old settler seemed to believe that it didn't do much good to fight a forest fire. He had seen great top-fires race with the wind faster than a horse could run. Jumping a quarter or half a mile across rivers and prairies. . Hence he was a cynlo, and thought forest rangers merely orn aments, and the Forestry Service only a bureau for furnishing soft Jobs to the friends of western Congressmen. But today fire fighting has become a science. The effectiveness of a for est fire fighter depends -largely upon the accessibility of the forests. To be more accurate, the term fire fighter is a misnomer In the dictionary of prac tical and scientific forestry. There have been forest fires that all the men In Oregon could not have 'IIS?- f Af-n' v5) im : ,vi- f! 'Uv 311, C -c-i wmfeL-K-r:! ' ji Ma ' Wr ' 4,,f v " - .rimM iwS-jr.z.r.-jy . S- WmWWmi$2Mm s rf'- Mump'- Ii1 l' fflffliM1siIi'4wi iimmw A 4 .'W mm ....... ' vr0t it. imifjjry7SStrii5 rtsu kti ,i,7 oxrv . . ., spivs'. 11 . -i: ,,,-'ftJ'wwif4 . - '.w 2- .1"- i i fismrwwisMswrr 11 . i Tiniii.iiir) ., ,. n , .nn,, ,.,,. ,.,. iM.ir,Milli,w.Kihiii,-n.r.f ., n - urn ... I tiff v wj lit J,H C ,J Si.-.-:::: ' -:::v .-' mt . . ' K.-)& VTST- Rk M i f A r?- II i i J- 4 Q , J-V.3 ,sV. X stopped but a lad could have crunched them out had he been at the right spot at the right time. With a sufficient number of fire patrolmen, no fire fight ers would be needed at all, in the av erage case. It will probably be some years, how ever, before our forests are well enough patrolled to Insure that no big nres "get out even though this year. In Oregon, the Federal Government is expending some $150,000 In protecting the National forests, and private own ers are expending a like amount, and the state forestry department has a working fund of $75,000 for the next two years. Though there are a larger number of forest fire fighters on dutv in the Northwest than ever before, still It is physically impossible to thoroughly patrol all the Immense timbered area of the state. But it happens that the fire hazard Is much greater in some sections than in others. Near thA Orcpnn onnst fno-n are so frequent, even in Summer, thatl uie, lire nazara is comparatively slight. mere have been some Immensely de Structive fires In this section, which have devoured hundreds of . square miles or umDer, but small flrea are in frequent. ' Every effort Is being made In sec tions where the fire hazard Is. greatest toward making the forests more ac cessible. High lookout points are lo cated and regularly visited. In the National forests a number of these lookout points are Inhabited practically all the time, some of them being equipped witn ranger cabins. At one such lookout point, only a little time ago, 13 different fires were located, following a sudden electrical storm. A few years ago It was hardly granted that forest fires could be start ed by lightning, but now this Is recog nized as one of the most dreaded and most uncertain of fire hazards In some zones. And it seems to have been latelv demonstrated that forest fires may be started by the concentration of the sun s rays through the medium of auch a simple object as a bit of glass. sometimes these ranger stations are rendered useless by an atmosphere charged with smoke or dust clouda But a fire having been discovered, the accession! ty oi the forests and the fire-fighting equipment are put to the test. This proves the necessity of trails and telephones. Some areas are so heavily timbered and so rough that ucn aeveiopment is very costly. isut tney must be had. nevertheless. and to this end the private timber own ers, the county officials and the Fed eral Government usually co-operate. In Linn County, for Instance, the privately owned timber lands alone have more than 100 miles of telephone lines and 400 miles of trails. Investigations have been conducted by the Forestry Service toward the possible supplementation of telephone lines Sa Uia forests. There Js one seo- j J a in i im y faLjg;., . .m;'.,.. -VH.ana -.it rrttrJ' ' '""TW l.?wr',-iN'n,.rW'h'V'.-f V" l ft I ii S&TiJ i ' ".''A:;':'.- III . ...-.'fniftru- IBB. ii . t . i r i a b CZas-CTsS. cZ s JZr Oregon . ' tion of the National forests in Wash ington where the heliograph is proving useful in flashing messages from point to point on clear days. In Oregon, however, the heliograph seems not so popular, it having been tested out in one section. The effective use of the heliograph needs special training and enthusiasm that can only be imparted by the initial enthusiasm of a forest supervisor, It seems. Somewhat in the same class Is wireless telegraphy. Telephone equipment is costly; some forests are so heavy In underbrush that wire suspension is difficult; and trees are constantly falling, and the wires and the poles may be destroyed at any ume oy lire, cut me use or wireless telegraphy would mean that a ranger must Decome expert in still another calling, and that much costly equip ment must be scattered through the forests. Also, this additional train ing would require higher-priced men lor the lookout stations. The possibility of forest fires In creases with the settlement and the development of the surrounding coun tryone of the prices of civilization, ana another argument for steadily add ing to the number of fire patrolmen In the. timbered areas. A few years ago many flrea were due to maliciousness or rank carelessness. Many fires spread from the clearings of settlers. Fires were Innocently set for the nur- pose of clearing off more range. But heavy state and National fines. and the detective qualities that the fire wardens and forest rangers must de cent fires from this source). For ax ample, one of the most disastrous of the recent fires In Idaho is reported due to the careless throwing of a lighted cigarette to the roadside. Prevention of this class of fires Is velop. make extremely costly the ma-1 as much a matter of education aa Kv li clous or careleea rWtlng of forest frightening people by threatened im- nrea, buh taara peon many re- J prlsonment and neavy fines. - Nowadays settlers adjacent to private 'or National forests must secure permits before be ing' allowed to burn the brush on their own clearings which some persons, at first, considered ' an un-American In fringement upon personal liberty. It has required constant warning and education to compel the camper in the woods to use precaution and common I sense In regards to his campflre. When a party goes into the woods for an outing, one of the luxuries is the camp fire. The bigger the fire the better. So the camper, unrestrained, would probably set fire to the largest brush heap that Is within reach, or to a pile of logs. And when It comes time to move camp, the fire Is not - needed, hence forgotten. But today our for ests are plastered with warnings. Not all of these warnings are threats; for example, the following: "Carelessness! With Fire May Destroy This Forest," "Don't Toss Away Burning Matches or Tobacco," "Forest Fires Cause Treeless Mountains, Decrease the Water Supply, Drive Away Tourists," "This Area Was Burned Because Some One Was Care less With Fire," "Don't Make Camp fires In Leaves, In Rotten Wood. or Against Logs." Our state and National forestry laws have taught the camper to enjoy modest camp-fire to witness the In dlan, who builds a smal fire and sits near, rather than a great fire which compels him to stay at a distance. Civilization has brought new sources of forest fires. Chief among these are railroad locomotives and loggers en gines, both of which are necessary In the development of our forest wealth. The fact that it Is practically lmpos Bible to start a forest fire during the wet months of the year, tends to make railroad men and loggers careless dur ing the ary months. A few modern fires are also charged to the maliciousness of men who for some reason had a grouch against Un cle Sam. Also, there Is good evidence that occasional fires have been started by unpatriotic men looking for a Sum mer Job at good pay as fire fighters. Unlike the city fireman, witn nis chemical engines and hydrants and long hose, the forest ranger can place almost no dependence upon water, in deed, he Is fortunate If he gets enough water to drink during the fire-flghtlng season. His chief weapons are such common tools as shovels, axes and garden rakes. A small fire can easily be smothered with a few shovelfuls of loose earth. A burning log left by a careless camper can often be extln crulshed only by cutting the log in two, Unless water happens to be very near at hand. . If the log Is detached, a trench is raked around so the fire can not spread, and It Is allowed to take Its own lire. . The larger flre which is large only because It was not reached when It was small Is more complex. It is the pol icy In some sections of the West to make permanent fire trenches through the mountains. The brush and dry grass Is kept cleared from a dry swath, and the or dinary fire will not leap this barren area, sometimes it is possioie to piow several furrows through the open tim ber, and thus cheek an advancing fire. If plowing Is Impracticable, as It Is In the majority of cases, trenches are I made as fast as possible with the gar den rake, the shovel and -the ax. A small grass flro- can often be effect ively checked merely by -using a wet sack or a saddle blanket to beat out the flames. If sand Is plentiful, a sin gle shovelful will often put out sev eral yards of an advancing fire line. Backfiring Is still another method of checking a forest conflagration. This merely means the building of a second fire and guiding It so that It will meet the larger fire. The hottest point Is thus where the two fires meet, and not . on the edge. This method is extremely dangerous, however, unless a large fireflghtlna force Is at hand, for the second fire may become more dangerous than the first. When a great fire Is advancing the firefighters are usually grouped, and they try to prevent Its crossing the crest of a favorably located ridge. If the' fire Is turned at this point, then the workers are concentrated at another point. In this way the fire can often be turned Into a barren area or to the edge of a lake or a river. The terror of the forest warden ' la the top-fire, which will come roaring and devouring faster than a man can run, and sometimes as fast as a horse can travel. Such a fire will often Jump a quarter or half-mile barren area and throw out an Intolerable heat a mile ahead. A few years ago three loggers were caught In such a fire In the Santlam district of Western Oregon. The fire seemed not advancing very rapidly, so they apparently decided to go back a quarter mile Into a canyon for their tools. A gust of wind, however. brought the top fire on faster than they could run. They were closed in on three sides and the only open wav was blocked by a precipitous cliff. Here the three charred bodies were found a ' few days later, the arms clutching the rocks overhead. Several years ago, at Wallace. Idaho. It. will be remembered that 23 persons took refuge from a top fire. In the tunnel of a mine. One after another of the party volunteered to stand at the mouth of the tunnel to hold a wet blanket against the opening to keep out the scorching heat. Each of these eight volunteers was In turn suffo cated. For five hours the party fought me intense neat, iinamg the onlv re lief in burying their faces In the mud of the floor of the tunnel. After eight oi the party had perished the remain ing 15 made a dash and escaped. suca incidents as these have given impetus to the movement to have the troops of the regular Army assigned to lire lighting duty In the National forests during the months of May, June, July, August and September. It is probable that the troops would en- Joy the Summer vacation In the moun tains. But because Army maneuvers are usually conducted during Summer months it seems Improbable that this movement ' will make any decided headway.
