Show FOREST FIRES DO DAMAGE the department of agriculture has been figuring up the losses by fires on oil the national forests for the calendar year 1912 and finds that they were were the lowest of recent i ears less than one acre to every thousand of timbered lands was burned over and tile the total damage is estimated at or less than one dollar to every 2000 acres of area the good record is attributed to first favorable weather conditions in most localities and second the increased efficiency of the firefighting fire fighting organization As congress makes available the means tor for extending the system of communications on the national forests the equipment of trails roads telephones and lookout stations is yearly enlarged and the fires it is said are discovered more quickly and fought more rapidly an especially good showing was made by the forest officers last year iti in extinguishing fires outside the national forests before they reached the forest boundaries such fires constituted more than one sixth of all fought by the forest rangers and guards about nine tenths were extinguished before they touched the forests of the fires within the forest boundaries more than IS 18 per cent were on lands in private ownership nearly one fourth of the extra expenditures due to fighting fires that is expenditures outside the time of the regular foiest force was incurred in fighting these fires lightening caused more fires than any other agency followed by railroads campers and incendiaries in order given the greatest losses oc cured in arizona arkansas and california in which states there was the largest proportion of fires by lightening and by about 27 per cent of all the fires started by lightning and about 38 cent were due to carelessness proportion in each case was practical 13 y the same ns as in the previous year the total number ot of fires was wag 2472 as compared with 3 69 in 1911 they burned over in the aggregate acres as against in 1911 california led all states in total number ot of fires and first in those ber caused by lightening arizona stood in both of these classifications cat ions arkansas stood fourth in total numb arof fires and first in those of incendiary origin with california second the one national forest in kansas had only one fire which burned over less than ten arces and cost to extinguish north korth dakota had no fires oil its one small forest of the 2472 fired oner oer 75 per cent were put out before 10 acres were burned over and nearly SO 1 per cent before one quarter of an acre was covered only 12 fires caused damage of more than 1000 each |