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Show Canyons Dry -Sparks Dangerous You, or someone like you, cause 90 per cent of all forest fires, Yes, you, the camper, hunter, fisherman, or tourist. You, the farmer, traveling salesman, logger, log-ger, rancher, cattleman, or railroad man. You, who live in or close by our forests and woodlands, who work in them or close to them, who tramp or drive through them. You set fire to the forests, through sheer carelessness or ignorance. You, the camper, in haste to hit the trail, leave your campfire without making sure it is dead out. It looks dead, but sometime later a breeze springs up and fans a feeble spark to life. The breeze increases. The sparks multiply. Charred chips of glowing bark are blown into dead leaves and needles nearby. They smolder, and the -fire creeps for a time along the forest floor, burning the smaller trees and rotten branches. Soon the floor of the forest is a sheet of flame. This is a surface fire. If the wind rises sharply, this surface fire might spring upward through the dry branches of smaller tops of the forest giants, starting a crown fire, the kind that wipes out great stands of tall timber. You, the tourist, returning with your family after a grand tour of our parks and forests, are speeding along a highway that cuts through the heart of the forest. Instead of stubbing out your cigar or cigarette cigar-ette in the ashtray on the dashboard, you, unthinkingly unthink-ingly toss it out of the car window. The wind whips it into a dry patch of weeds. The weeds ignite, and the flames travel into low br ush and small trees burning rapidly. Soon, it has reached the forest, and you have unwittingly started a conflagration. - And so it goes; any spark is dangerous in the canyons whether from a cigarette, campfire, logging equipment, or even a passing train. Only ten per cent of our forest fires are due to natural causes such as lightning and spontaneous combustion. The rest are started by you. The three remaining causes of fires are men, women and children. child-ren. Forest fires often leave disfigured scars on the face of America's beauty. Our recreational areas may be ruined. Untouched by fire, the forest's appeal to all. The great woods afford us escape and retreat from the routine of our daily lives. You, the fisherman, fisher-man, know and love each lonely fishing stream. You, the camper, pitch your tent in the solitude of the forest. You, the tourist, relax and dream here. You, the health-seeker, find strength in these woods. You, the hiker, pause on the trail to watch the sun set beyond a far woodland. You may build a cabin or a summer home in these wToods and count the days until you can return again. Then fire strikes that beauty may be gone forever. The very spot you loved so well are raw and ghastly eyesores. The cabin you had, and the haunts you knew, are nothing but memories. |