| Show forest fires sabotage war plans by destroying lumber hastening s erosion diverting manpower more than 90 per cent of conflagrations b called preventable each year loyal american citizens through carelessness and thoughtlessness start an average of some forest fires in the united states this tremendous annual destruction of our timber resources has been going on relentlessly year in and year out now that these resources are so critically needed and of such vital importance for the successful prosecution of the war the number of forest fires must be reduced drastically in in i the interest of national security in addition to its effect on our war production activity forest fires further complicate our manpower shortage problem by draining away from critical war industries those wasted man hours necessary to extinguish and fight the thousands of fires that rage yearly throughout the country the problem is one of personal interest to every american forest fires speed up erosion of farm land by denuding watersheds on millions of acres forest fires induce swift run off and heavy seasonal flooding resulting in serious property damage less water stored for irrigation or power and thus less food to fight for freedom these fires also destroy wild life along with its food and cover untold numbers of deer birds and other wild life as well as fish in streams polluted by wood ashes are crippled and killed annually because of forest fires prevention objectives of the 1944 forest fire prevention program are to help speed victory by I 1 reducing greatly the more than forest fires occurring each year 90 per cent of which are man caused and therefore preventable 2 releasing manpower of which nearly one million man days are tied up yearly in fighting forest fires 3 cutting down on actual and potential dangers and losses to such critical war materials as timber and feed for domestic stock and wild life one third of U S Is forest the forest empire of the united states exclusive of alaska is larger than the combined area of france germany italy norway sweden belgium the netherlands and the british isles it constitutes one third the area of the continental united states no region or zone is without its forests although 60 per cent is east of the great plains in an area containing four fifths of our population the other 40 per cent is west of the great plains and includes most of our remaining virgin timber it is evident therefore that forest fires constitute a national problem c which can be solved only by ti nationwide action statistical information on hand which was gathered over a five year period 1936 41 shows that an average of forest fires rage each year throughout the nation and burn bur over an average of acres this represents an area much larger than the land area of new york state this wartime waste represents three billion feet of timber killed or enough to build five room homes for war workers ninety per cent of all forest fires are man made the remaining 10 per cent are caused by lightning careless smokers and campers are responsible for starting 30 per cent of all our forest fires other forest fires are intentionally set for such purposes as ca clearing plow land burning off weed patches s logging slash brush or debris and although many of these fires are started lawfully great numbers of them get out of hand because of carelessness and ignorance on the part of the burner or because of his willingness to take a chance forest fires in this category constitute 40 PER CENT or OF THE TOTAL in its wartime activities tor for 1942 the united states used more wood than steel according to R W patterson undersecretary of war tons of wood were used as against million tons of steel As a further indication of its importance in our wartime activities we have the statement of rear hear adm E L cochrane in the international woodworker 9 9 22 2 43 that every naval vessel from the log battleship of the north carolina class to the small mine sweeper depends on wood it is a problem then of national concern when the production of lumber estimated in 1943 to be four billion board feet below require merits ments of that year is slowed down every time woods and mill crews fight fires forest fires are real and potential threats to war plants and canton men ments ts many of which are located in and near forest woodland or brush covered areas they are potential threats too to the efficient operation of defensive air and sea patrols training pilots etc they threaten the nations war program by diverting m manpower from war industries training camps and farms to the fighting of fires every patriotic citizen should regard helping prevent forest fires as an essential wartime duty gen john L dewitt while head of the western defense command listed reasons why the forest fires endanger our national security 1 smoke palls from forest fires along coastal areas limit visibility of air and sea patrols 2 smoke haze reduces visibility from aircraft warning stations and fire lookouts 3 many defense plants and military establishments are located in or adjacent to forest areas and might be damaged or destroyed by major conflagrations W 4 forest fires serve as beacons tor for the ene my the governments part there are national forests with about federally owned acres in 42 states and two territories AU all are under 10 regional foresters one in alaska and their staffs nasonal forests are protected from fire by a decentralized organization that is in close and constant touch with local conditions problems and people normally this organization includes about yearlong year long forest supervisors forest rangers forest guards etc and another short term smoke chasers lookouts etc but the manpower situation has been so acute during the war that the office of civilian defense established the forest fire fighters service to help the established forest fire protection agencies it is reported that more than recruits have joined the to date there are acres of state and privately owned forest land federal aid through the forest service goes to 41 states to help state foresters and private owners give organized cooperative forest fire protection funds from state and private sources are greater than those from the federal government however there are over acres that need but still lack organized forest fire protection in their efforts to prevent forest fires the federal government and state governments have operated on a regional and statewide state wide basis their educational efforts on a local level have been carried through the media of newspapers radio stations motion picture theaters civic organizations izat ions etc and in additon they have used exhibits lectures pamphlets admonition signs and posters the publics part above all else there is need to impress upon the public that every individual has a patriotic stake in this EMERGENCY that the problem can only be solved through individual action specifically the need is 1 for the public to be careful with matches smokes including cigarettes cigars and pipe ashes and campfires camp fires 2 for victory gardeners as well as farmers ranchers stockmen stoc kmen and forest industries to ask about a per mit and the law before burning grass brush fence rows ferns ferns trash or before starting any fires in forests 3 for everybody to put out small fires and to report all others quickly to the nearest ranger or fire warden geographical aspects with an eye to the tremendous value of timber in our all out war production activities the united states has been divided into three broad zones each of which has been weighed and its relative importance indicated on the map which also shows the forest service administrative regions before the broad zones and administrative regions were determined war industrial activity and national defense considerations erat ions were studiously reviewed zone 1 with a relative importance of 60 includes 1 three pacific coast states plus western montana and northwestern idaho 2 most of the three great lakes states 3 all or parts of 26 states from missouri arkansas east texas and louisiana to maine zone 11 II with a relative importance of 30 includes 1 the area lying east of the pacific coast portion of zone I 1 and west of the great plains states 2 the area lying between the lakes states and the atlantic coast gulf of mexico portion of zone 1 I zone III with a relative importance of 10 includes parts of montana and minnesota and all or parts of the great plains states of north and south dakota nebraska iowa missouri kansas texas and oklahoma these zones have been subdivided into regions as follows with the fire hazards region I 1 montana and northern idaho ninety per cent of all fires here are caused by lightning with the greatest damage done to white pine timber the resident problem is more important than the visitor problem region 2 colorado wyoming south dakota nebraska kansas thirty four per cent of all fires in this region are man caused the visitor problem is more important than the resident one with carelessness more of a factor tharl than intentional fire setting region regin 3 arizona new mexico there is less of a fire problem here than in any other region region 4 utah nevada most of idaho in this region man caused fires run from 17 to 57 per cent varying with the locality careless smokers logging operators campers land clearing farmers and ranchers are the causes sen serious 1 ous erosion is often caused by fires in many localities grass fires a are re it a great hazard region 5 california three fourths of all fires are man caused part of this is due to the great influx of war workers buethe but the majority of fires are caused by residents rather than newcomers region 6 oregon washington most forest fires here are due to careless smokers but forest industries and incendiaries cause the largest area burned and the greatest damage region 7 new england and middle atlantic states plus maryland west virginia and virginia again the local resident and the smoker are mainly to blame also the farmer who burns to clear land region 8 the south from north carolina south and west to and including texas the intentional burner who has believed in burning for years is the greatest problem he is the local resident not the visitor the white man rather than the negro region 9 the great lakes states north dakota iowa missouri illinois indiana ohio diverse conditions exist in this region with large numbers of fires and tremendous acreage burned ninety seven per cent centon of all fires are man caused in the following order of importance the smoker the incendiary the debris burner GI IOA CL I ae ivr 1 REGIO 1 0 rm 47 WA acx NM 1 zone I 1 relative r importance 60 zone 2 relative importance 3 va zone 3 relative importance 10 |
