OCR Text |
Show Few Forest Fires; Campers Careful In spite of the extreme hazardous climatic conditions, the1 forest fire situation in the intermountain region during the first half of the summer has been very gratifying, on account of the care which is exercised by all who visit the forests, in preventing the start of conflagrations, states R. H. Rutledge, District Forester of the Intermountain District. Reports to the end of July from all forests show that 318 fires have been suppressed to that date; only 48 of hem having succeeded in covering an area in excess of 10 acres. A total of 9,G31 acres have been burned over. Two hundred and sixty-three, or 83 per cent of the total number of fires occurred in southwestern Idaho, a region of extreme hazard. One hundred and thirty-six were due to human carlessness and to date 29 offenders in this regard have told it to the judge and have been fined. Nearly half of the fires caused by carelessness were smokers' fires. This cause has assumed unusual prominence this year while unextinguished unextin-guished camp fiires have been conspicuously con-spicuously few. This is ascribed by forest officers, to the fact that the public appreciates the fire danger and is being careful that camp fires are put out. Throwing away cigarette butts and lighted matches is so much a'mattor of habit, that even in a year as extremely dry as this devotees of the weed seldom think what they are doing with their fire. On July 31. extreme fire hazard was reported to exist throughout central Idaho, where high temperatures tempera-tures are coupled with humidity as low as 6 per cent. In western Wyoming Wy-oming Yellowstone Park region, conditions con-ditions are about average, while in southern Utah recent rains have reduced re-duced the fire danger to a very satisfactory satis-factory degree. The Caribou Forest in southeastern Idaho, is the only National Forest in the intermountain region reporting no fires in 1924. |