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Show Fire Danger Acute, Forester Warns "The July holidays are ahead of us and, if the current hot, dry winds continue, we would be ir a bad osition for forest fires in tne Dixie National Forest." Supervisor Jack B. Shumate said Tuesday in an appeal for extra caution by all forest users. "Not only will more people be using the Forest over the holidays, holi-days, but regular tourist traffic is also heavier, adding to the fire risk," Mr. Shumate said. 'The most critical areas right now are low, south and west facing fronts between Enterprise St. George and Cedar City, and in the Escalante area," he reported. re-ported. The last rainfall was June 16, but It was spotty and did not cover the entire forest None has fallen since that time. Three fires have occurred on the Dixie National Forest during dur-ing the month of June. The largest larg-est was a 35 acre in Pondcrosa 1'ine timber on the Teasdale Ranger District. A small fire occurred oc-curred south of Enterprise In a pinion-Juniper area. Last weekend week-end the first man-caused fire occurred about three miles east of Vermillion Castle Campground in Parowan Canyon. "This fire is being investigated to find out the specific cause and whether the identity of persons starting the fire can be deter- mined. The fires at Teasdale and Enterprise were started by lightning." said Carl Swanson, Staff Officer in charge of fire control. A fire hazard Is present when the burning index reaches 50 or more. The Dixie has hit 75 now. The burning index Is an accurate guide to the relative danger that exists and has been worked out using figures from 1-to 100. "At point 1, the combustible material is so saturated that It cannot be burned, but when it reaches 100, you can't even split a rock with out being afraid it might set off a spark," Mr. Swanson said. "Although the Dixie had 65 fires in 1961, we maintained an outstanding fire record in comparison com-parison with the 18 National Forest in the Intermountain Region. Re-gion. With the help of all of the public, we can do as well, or better in 1962. We can't control lightning to prevent it causing fires, but we can prevent the-needless the-needless waste of man-caused fire on our wildlands.. Don't be the one to break the record," he asks. In 1961, only 6 percent of the fires on the Dixie National Forest For-est were man-caused. While 65 fires totaled 610 acres and placed the Dixie relatively hieh in acre age burned, there was an 87r improvement in number of man-caused man-caused fires started in 1961 in comparison to 1960. "The public is responsible for the good record we had last season sea-son and we hope they will make a better one in 1962," Supervisor Shumate concluded. |