Show fires great toll one match one smoldering cigarette butt one spark from a camp fire can be the cause of the destruction of thousands of acres 1 of timber that it took nature cent centuries urles to create and when the forests burn bum the cruelest of deaths comes to the wildlife that live in their shelter this year the country has witnessed a number of very serious forest fires the hazard does not end with the summer months there has been unusually dry weather in various sections of the country trees and woodlands will te be ripe for destruction by fire for z acme me time to come there seems to be a rather widespread idea that most forest fires are started by natural causes beyond the ability of man to control that is not true As the new york times has said some fires of course are set by lightning but authorities are agreed that nine out of ten are due entirely to human carelessness with matches cigarettes cr camp fires annually they cause direct losses running into many millions of dallara and equally serious indirect losses in the destruction of our dwindling forest reserves the me human factor in fact is responsible for almost all fires whether vh ether they take place in a home a forest or in a factory carelessness 19 ignorance indifference to are fires friends when we replace them with care and watchfulness fire will be beaten I 1 |