C3
Is That So?
Although tha excessive heat of
rummer dayi may be over, the
month of October can and often
is the most dangerous month of
the year for forest fires. Even
after rains or premature snow.
Formerly we forest rangers
thought that rains or snows were
tjie chief natural safeguards
against forest fires, while a pro
tracted drought, through its dry
ing effects, was supposed to be
the worst of all days to increase
the meaace of fire.
Not so!
Today we know that even
though rain or snow may have
fallen just the previous week,
other factors can conspire to in
crease the fire hazard. From the
other point of view, we know too
that even though rain has not
fallen on forests for weeks, or
even months, other factors can
keep the hazard of fire compara
tively low.
What then is this determining
factor? It is the amount of in
visible vapor in the air together
By EUGENE BURNS
Rjngtr-Naturalitt
with the moisture of the forest
floor the loose duff made up of
leaves, little twigs and, cones. In
short, the relative humidity of
the atmosphere the ratio be
tween the water vapor present
in the air and the maximum
amount of moisture the air can
contain at the temperature pre
vailing. ThuS, if after a rain the air
turns dry as often happens
when the rain is over and the
wind shifts and blows from a dry
region of low humidity, then the
forest fuels can dry out quickly
and be in a state ready for igni
tion within 48 hours.
Temperatures Remain High
Such a drying condition fre
quently occurs when an Indian
summer is prolonged in October
temperatures remain high; at
this time of year there is a
slower rate of evaporation from
the ground which is already
parched from a summer's
drought; and this dryness is fur
ther nourished by sunshine and
drying breezes. Add to this the
dry leaves in the trees. Under
such circumstances, truly, the
fire hazard is explosively real;
quite likely the year's most dan
gerous peak is present.
No better proof of the import
ance of low humidity could
exist than that northwest insur-.
ance companies recognize this
and in our great western woods
ofler a substantially reduced
premium rate to those logging
companies which suspend active
logging operations whenever
the relative humidity falls be
low 30 per cent.
Some foresters would say that
even 30 per cent is putting it too
low: after all, it has been ascer
tained that 90 per cent of dam
age done to forests in the west
have begun on days when the
relative humidity fell below 40
per cent.
Will Check Fires
On the other hand, the delay
ing effect of higher moisture on
fire can be seen in this: even
when fires are blazing, a rising
percentage of humidity to 60 per
cent will sometimes check the
fire and if it should rise to 75,
even extinguish the fire with
out so much as a drop of rain
falling.
This close relationship be
tween relative humidity and in
flammability of forest fuels
means that a forest fire burns
almost always much more brisk
ly in the daytime say from 10
a.m. to 6 p.m. when the air is
driest, and dies down generally
at night when the falling tem
peratures the relative humidity
rises.
Notwithstanding, some fac
tors can make a fire blaze even
in a rain. Should a fire be climb
ing a steep slope, then the hot
air rising from below may keep
the forest ahead dry as tinder
and I have seen fires literally
explode as they raced up hill
sides despite showers.
As well, large fires make their
own drift a wind of tornado in
tensity to fan the flames. In the
Tillamook, Oregon, burn of 1933,
the power of the in-blowing
wind was so great that it pulled
giant Douglas firs up from the
ground by their roots.
Great Strides Mad
With our new-found know;
ledge of humidity and with fire
fighting improvements, great
strides have been made in pro
tecting our forests and the wild
life in them. Statistics from the
state of Washington proclaim the
story dramatically: During the
10 years from 1926-35 when I
was a forest ranger there, we
had 8,143 forest fires which in
volved 730,047 acres averaging
89.7 to the fire; more recently,
during the succeeding 10 years
from 1936 to 1945, there were
even more fires 10,361 but
they involved only 76,177 acres
Sunday, October 18, 195S
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUTE WINE
which averaged less than a tenth
as much, 7.3 acres to the fire.
Almost 80 per cent of all for
est fires are started by man
the remainder by lightning.
There is one sure way to prevent
fires and that is. for every out
doorsman hiker, camper, pho
tographer, angler or hunter to
help: to take even greater pre
cautions in the forest during
periods of low humidity. This
calls for close co-operation with
rangers: observe the restrictions
regarding campfire sites and the
extinguishing of camp fires;
when smoking is prohibited, fol
low this order to the very let
ter; and when areas are closed,
stay out of them.
After all, the only fire which
cannot destroy timber and wild
life is the fire which never gets
started.
(Copyright, 1955,
by Eugene Burns)
(Released by McClure News
paper Syndicate)
Free: By special arrangement
with the editors of the Encyclo
pedia Americana, my panel of
Two Plead Guilty; Two Men Sentenced
Two men pleaded guilty to
charges in circuit court, Friday,
and two others received sen
tences for burglary and obtain
ing money under false pretenses.
Anthony Henry Silas, 48, Val
lejo, Calif., was sentenced ' to
three years in Oregon state pen
itentiary on a charge of burglary
in a dwelling. Silas stole a radio
judges will award each week
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Sorry, ,1 simply cannot answer
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Please address your letters to:
IS THAT SO! co Medford Mail
Tribune, Box 575, Sausalito,
Calif..
and hotplate from the home of
Ralph Connor, Talent, according
to police records.
Glenn Hedges Upchurch, 51,
Los Angeles, was sentenced to
four years in Oregon state pen
itentiary, on a Charge of obtain
ing money under false pretenses.
His sentence was suspended on
condition that he enter the Vet
eran's hospital in Portland.
Warren Elridge Keller, 29,
Pendleton, pleaded guilty to a
charge of obtaining money un
der false pretenses. Sentencing
was postponed pending receipt
of federal bureau of, investiga
tioa records.
Don Albert Jonsrud, 24, Ash
land, pleaded guilty ta charge
of contributing to the delinquen
cy of a minor. Jonsrud's senten
cing was also deffered pending
receipt of I'M records.
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