Show J TOE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE SUNDAY MORNING JUNE fl 1937 CRACKING DOWN ON THE FOREST FIREBUG & ' '' ' v $ vr i yN :K s? "SSawc m1 a forest fire starts whether Incendiary or accidental: a tiny blase Ih dry leaves and twigs How If r r i I 'n I alarm is given In time the forest ranger puts the fire out with a portable water pack Amost every year Uncle Sam takes it on the chin to the tune of $50000000 in loss of valuable timber caused by fire A lot of these fires are the results of "natural causes" Electrical storms play their part in starting woodland conflagrations sparks from steam engines whose tracks run through heavily timbered regions are the'causes of destructive biases But the "firebug” the misguided individual who purposely starts a forest fire for one of several reasons ia one of the principal headaches of the United States forest service whose lumber job it Is to protect the 200000000 acres of potential — — ‘that IS scattered throughout America summer months throughout the - Oftentimbered during the hot areas of our country devastating woodland heavily reasonsfor blazes are started Against' the menace personal of the firebug is pitted the trained personnel of the U S forest service — men who know their jobs as well as the clever est federal detective or city sleuth who ever tracked a murderer or kidnaper To them la antruated-th- a task down and bringing to justice these pubic enemies who Beek to destroy this source of the nation’s natural wealth According to David Godwin associate chief of the fire fighting division of the service practically every individual who sets ablaze timber that is guarded by Unde Sam’s rangers is caught in the end This statement does not necessarily apply to private forest lands not under direct supervision of the forest service but it is definitely true of timber owned by the government of the forest” operate? How is it How do these possible to discover an incendiary when the rangers have hardly anything in the way of clues hut acres of charred and smoldering trees and bushesT For answer let us turn to the confidential fies of the United States forest service: Forest Ranger Robert Kloppenburg on duty in Santa Barbara National forest California got a phone call one afternoon from a filling station owner on a highway in the Cuyama valley near the forest’s boundary The caller had seen a man setting a fire In the woods not far from the highway Kloppenburg took a crew to the scene in a truck and had the fire out in 20 minutes Before the men had caught their breath the smoke of another fire was seen two miles away They hurried off to check that — and a third was discovered farther down the valley In all they discovered and put out five fires that afternoon But the filling station man nad seen the firebug and had taken the license number of his car The rangers furthermore had found identical tire tracks at the scene of each blaze An alarm was broadcast and before night the polics A few weeks later he was tried had arrested the fugitive convicted and sentenced to a stiff term in the federal prison at McNeil Island Not always is the ranger’s detective work that simple A long and bitter legal battle was waged' by the forest service before Firebugs George Nutter and Denny Jacobs were brought to justice These two men were finally convfcted of starting one of the most destructive fires that ever hit northern California— a blaze which destroyed 31000000 hoard feet of marketable yellow and sugar pine and seriously threatened the timber bordering Yosemite National park and the famous Mariposa trees d men to get that fire under control It took 790 and many of them were kept on the scene for nearly a month extinguishing smoldering 'brush fires which the great blaze left in its wake But if it took a month to lick the fire it took very much longer to lick the firebugs The' job was finally done by Fire Chief Wofford and U S Attorney Pierson M Hall and Hall’s assistant Jack Irwin Suspicion was centered around Nutter a cattle rancher of the vicinity and Jacobs an Indian when it was learned that the ranch owner had moved a number of his cattle from the burned area BEFORE the fire started The carcasses of many deer and smaller animals were discovered but not a dead cow or pteer was found In the region devastated by the flames Furthermore Nutter had been known to have started fires on his own land before for purposes of collecting insurance In short the man had a reputation as a “burner” Jacobs hung around Nutter’s ranch considerably did a little work for him occasionally was pretty much of a drunkard and had a poor reputation in the community Fire Chief Wofford got busy and pertinent information began to turn up One witness stated he saw Nutter leave the spot where the nre started a few minutes before the telltale Another swore that Nutter had smoke began to ascend threatened to start a fire in the Sierra National forest partly to hum off brush for bettering grazing conditions for his — cattle and partly to collect insurance - (So bad had Nutter’s reputation become the fire chief learned that no reputable Insurance company would write him a policy) To all the questionings of the forest service Nutter and Jacobs steadfastly denied they had anything to do with the crime However the pair were arrested six months later and confined in the Madera county jail rThere they were ques loaned by the Berkeley police tioned under a They still denied their guilt bub A H Bledsoe experienced was convinced the two men operator of the ‘ were lying r' Almost two years after the fire started Nutter and Jacobs — were brought to trial la the federal court lit Fresno wlth-4h- e forest service men far from confident that they would win the case The prosecution was handled by Jack Irwin Part of a congratulatory letter to Mr Irwin from the forest service in connection with this case reads: “—Your highy cooperative spirit and able handling of an apparently weak and difficulty case against a capable and stubborn defense was outstanding" Both Nutter and Jacobs were convicted and got stiff sen-fences' at hard labor in the federal road camp In Arizona to be fallowed by a stretch in the Madera county jail At present both gentlemen are busy with picks and shovels Somcyears ago a veritable epidemic of forest fires took ' place In Idaho The fires took place at regular Intervals along a more Or less straight path across the forest country and presently It was noticed that a fire would no sooner be disautos full of men would begin driving covered than rattle-tra- p up and parking These men would alight and stand about until the Then for harassed fire wardens drafted them into service a few days or a week they would have jobs— 30 or 40 cents an hour and three squares a day It was deduced that these were unemployed casual laborers of the kind who drift all across the ranch and farm country of the west The depression had made jobs scarce These drifters— or some of them at least— had hit on the idea of creating work for themselves by setting fires' The governor of Idaho had the situation called to his attention that summer- and he promptly declared martial law-iseven counties with national guardsmen patrolling the roads and allowing no one to enter without a pass And as soon as that was done It is said the “epidemic” of forest fires came to an end! Then too aside from the men who start fires for some ’ economic advantage there are always & certain number of warped twisted souls who are true pyromanl&cs — men who set fires because they have a pathological desire to see flames and to experience the excitement of a big blaze These men are more common in the cities than In the forest-area- s but of them is responsible fora forest fire once In a while-onsets the who a ablaze however In general forest incendiary is a man who stands to gain by the conflagration And because there are quite a few such men the cf the wilderness are kept pretty busy - Incidentally the work of the CCC boys In cutting down fin losses should be mentioned They have Bathing to do & If the alarm Is not given In time you get something like thii destructive blaze sweeping down the rolling slopes of a forest with fire bug detection but they have a lot to do with stopping fires once they are started And so it goes the BOO rangers fire guards special Inspectors and other enforcement officers of the national forest service carry on a relentless war against the firebugs -- And here is the of the forest fire— blackened trunks la a Washington forest where mighty trees stood an hour before ct The latest methods of scientific crime detection are coupled with the ability to track and trail that is as keen as any Indian's With this program of enforcement work Is coupled syjtem of education for the thoughtless rancher who sincerely but mistakenly believes that setting forest -- a V fires is good for grazing Jand- “We are winning the fight" says David Godwin associate chief of the fire fighting division of the service "for each year shows an appreciate decrease In downright incendiarism” “G-M- ‘ hard-presse- NOW-- AN -- -- - ‘ RICHER COFFEE! 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