Show OUR devastating FOREST FIRES some historic fires carelessness largely cause of the great annual loss ef orts to cope W att the problem the recent forest fires in the michigan upper peninsula and wisconsin bring up other forest fires that have worked such haac tn our splendid timber lands fires in the adiron dacks seem to be annual visitations sometimes reaching large proportions sometimes effectively routed ere much damage has been done again we hear of the great waste in the forest re alons glons of the pacific coast of fires in the turpentine forests of the south again that timber lands in michigan and wisconsin have been swept by the fire demon gifford pinchot chief of the forest service united states department of agriculture gives in the farmers bul letin a short review of historic fires tires that have reached gigantic pro portions mr pinchot tells of the hinckley minn fire of september 1 1894 the great fires ln michigan in 1881 wisconsin peshtigo fire of october 1871 and the michigan fires of the same year the fire of in the latter fire a region in new brunswick suffered this fire at about one clock in the afternoon was rag ing at a place some 60 miles above the town of newcastle on the river before ten clock it was 20 miles below newcastle in nine hours it had destroyed a belt of forest 80 miles long and 25 miles wide over more than two and a halt million cattle and buildings tor it carries with it the impoverishment of a whole region for tens or even hundreds of years afterward the loss ot the stumpage value ot the timber at the time ot the fire Is but a small part ot the damage to the neighborhood the wages that would have been earned in lumbering added to the value ot the produce that would have been purchased to supply the lumber camps and the taxes that would have been devoted to roads and other public am prove ments furnish a much truer measure ot how much sooner or later it costs a region when its forests are destroyed by fire there are two recognized fire sea sons in the united states in the spring and fall the alre season when the greatest damage Is done in the middle west far west and parts of the south Is in the period between late august and early november H M suter editor of forestry and alon in an in the review ot reviews says that carelessness in one form or another Is cause of most of the forest fires in the united states of those proceeding aiom carelessness fully one halt are due to railroads and their employed emp loyes indeed an elpe forester who for a number of years was a locomotive engineer is authority for the statement that at least 65 per cent of this country s tor est alres are due to railroads sparks acres almost every living thing was found killed even the fish were aft erward found dead in heaps along the river banks five hundred and ninety buildings were burned and a number 0 towns including newcastle chat him and douglastown Douglas town were destroyed one hundred and sixty persons per dished and and nearly 1000 head of stock the next fire the peshtigo alre of october 1871 was even more destruct tive two thousand square miles of wisconsin lands were burned over re su ng in timber and other losses mounting up to many millions of dol lars between 1 and 1 persons were killed almost halt the tion ot the town of peshtigo perished at about the same time fires raged in the neighboring state of michigan hundreds of people lost their lives a strip of land about 40 miles wide and miles long extending across the central part of the state from lake michigan to lake huron was devad bated in this last named conf lagra tion the fire ate up timber estimated at 4 feet board measure valued at 10 ten years afterward in 1881 great fires covered more than 1 miles in various parts of michigan again many persons perished over 5 per sons were made destitute much prop erty was destroyed in addition to the valuable timber up in the north woods they still speak with bated breath of the dread tul hinckley fire in minnesota in which so many persons lost their lives the burned over area was not so large as in other great fires but the destruction of life and property was very heavy hinckley and six other towns were destroyed about per sons perished and 2 were left des the estimated loss in property was 25 the loss of life would have been much greater had it not been for the heroic conduct of the railroad men heavy smoke from the frequent fires on the western coast sometimes ren ders navigation dangerous on puget sound in 1902 forest alrea in oregon and washington destroyed within two weeks over 12 wor h of tim her and property the loss occurred in a restricted area and represented but a portion of the country s annual forest fire los yearly forest fires are 1001 ed for the annual loss Is esti mated at 50 As the chief of the forest service suggests the loss by great forest fires Is a loss very difficult to estimate the destruction of the timber Is a more serious loss than that of the from an engine proceeding through 1 forested country during dry are almost suie to start fires in thi connection it is noteworthy that th first serious alres in the adirondack region this spring 1903 were direct ly due hot cinders thrown ou by a locomotive when a heavy wine was blowing across the tracks th forest was in a highly condition due to the long dry spell and these alres burned for days an other fire in the same region wai caused by an engineer who in cordei to improve the draught took th spark arrester out of the engine while going from saranac to lake placid section hands too in burning old ties brush weeds and rubbish along the right of way are apt to let the flames escape into adjoining wooded lands others responsible for many forest alres are lumbermen farmers and set tiers hunters cause trouble by leav ing camp fires burning tourists are a menace especially in maine and adirondacks a match end a lighted fire sometimes leading to a mighty conflagration berry pickers will fire areas to improve next season s crop sheep herders to improve pasturage and both have proved sources of dan ger in the south a menace has been the hurry to get use of lands for corn and cotton each year in the south immense areas are girdled and burned sometimes wantonness wan and malice are at the bottom of destruct alve fires boys wanting to see a big blaze natives jealous of private pre serves and even of state preserves but carelessness Is chief cause there are but scattered instances where the cause can be traced to maliciousness and there are but scattered instances of forest fires starting from lightning in 1903 the bureau of forestry began a thorough study in various regions of the forest fire problem men were placed in forest regions to study fires in the process of burning agents put to investigate causes find how fast alres burn what conditions favor ano what hinder them what damage they do soil and tree growth other agents were delegated to study fire krotec alon several states notably new york pennsylvania and minnesota have adopted effective fire laws ta learning her lesson in the hinckle catastrophe Is credited with the best example of fire laws mr suter tell us the only way to deal with forest fires Is to prevent them and gives cor dial praise to minnesota with her ef service based solely on th idea of prevention CATHERINE POPE |