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Show FORESTER URGES PRECAUTIONS AGAINST FIRES "Continued dry. hot weather has left Utah ranges very susceptible suscep-tible to fires, and travelers should be particularly careful of their cigarette butts, pipe heels, matches match-es and campfires," J. Whitney Floyd, extension forester at the Utah State Agricultural college, warns. j When fire burns over the foot-, hills, vegetation is destroyed and J the ranges become vulnerable to "flush" floods during rain storms, thus permitting the first- steps of erosion to set in. These fires are hazardous to crops, homes, and fences, and they reduce the humus content of the soil. If allowed to spread to higher hills such fires destroy timber which has taken hudreds of years to grow to maturity, ma-turity, the forester stated. He advised all travelers to carry car-ry a shovel and axe to be used in controlling fires. "Small fires can be controlled by one or two men, but if permitted to grow and expand ex-pand many men and much equipment equip-ment is needed," he asserted. Forest fires throughout the United States annually burn over an area equal to about two-thirds the size of the state of Utah. The' state's total area is more than 52 million acres. During the past two weeks Mr. Floyd has made a tour of the state and reports that he has seen hundreds of fires and burns visible from the road. "These have been caused largely through carelessness and thoughtlessness," thought-lessness," he said, "and could be appreciably reduced if every citizen citi-zen would guard against acts which might start a conflagration." conflagra-tion." County sheriffs, and officials of the forest service and grazing service ser-vice should be notified whenever grass and forest fires are spotted, Mr. Floyd concluded. |