(p. 63)
 
 

Probably the greatest single benefit derived by the community and the nation from forest reserves is insurance against the destruction of property, timber resources, and water supply by fire. The direct annual loss from this source on unprotected lands reaches many millions of dollars; the indirect loss is beyond all estimate. The burden of adequate protection can not well be borne by the State or by its citizens, much as they have to gain, for it requires great outlay of money to support a trained and equipped force, as well as to provide a fund to meet emergencies. Only the Government can do it, and, since the law does not provide effective protection for the public domain only in forest reserves can the Government give the help so urgently needed.

(p. 64)

 Through its watchful fire patrol the Forest Service guards the property of the resident settler and miner, and preserves the timber and water supply upon which the prosperity of all industries depends. The help it can give to the development of the West may be greatly increased by the cooperation of citizens. Destructive forest fires are not often set willfully, but far too commonly they result from failure to realize that carelessness will be followed by injury and distress to others. The resident or the traveler in forest regions who takes every precaution not to let fire escape, and who is active in extinguishing fires which he discovers, contributes directly to the development and wealth of the country and to the personal safety and profit of himself and his neighbors. He who does not, assumes a great responsibility by endangering not only his own welfare but that of countless others.

 Citizens' fire brigades have been organized successfully on many reserves. Not only is the prevention of fire to the interest of all property owners, but men under obligation to fight fire because they hold permits will profit greatly by any means of reducing the work which they may be called upon to do. An organization which will put out a fire before it gathers headway may save them many days' hard work. A good leader should be chosen to direct the work and to communicate with the forest officers. The local ranger should keep this leader informed of his movements as far as practicable, so that no time need be lost.

 Care with small fires is the best preventive of large ones. The following simple regulations may easily be observed by all:

(p. 65)

 REG. 58. Camp fires must not be larger than necessary.

 REG. 59. Fires must not be built in leaves, rotten wood, or other places where they are likely to spread.

 REG. 60. Fires must not be built against large or hollow logs, where it is difficult to be sure when they are completely out.

 REG. 61. In windy weather and in dangerous places, camp fires must be confined in holes, or by clearing all vegetable matter from the ground around them.

 REG. 62. A fire must never by left, even for a short absence, before it is completely extinguished.

 Officers of the Forest Service, especially forest rangers, have no duty more important than protecting the reserves from forest fires. During dry and dangerous periods all other work should be subordinate. Most careful attention should be given to the prevention of fires. Methods and equipment for fighting them should be brought to the highest efficiency. No opportunity should be lost to impress the fact that care with small fires is the best way to prevent large ones.

 The reserves must be thoroughly posted with fire warnings. The fact that some of them are destroyed is no excuse for neglecting this important duty. Often the warning notices can be posted on or near signboards along trails, or notices of reserve boundaries, limits of districts, or excluded parts in grazing ranges, etc. The destruction of these notices is willful trespass, punishable by law.

 Forest officers should cheerfully and politely tell hunters, campers, and others about the rules and regulations governing camp fires. An officer who loses his temper or uses improper language in talking with persons who are careless because they do not know about the rules, or have no experience in camping, fails in one of his principal duties. He should call their attention to the mistake and instruct them courteously in the proper way of building and handling fires.

(p. 66)

 REG. 63. Lumbermen and settlers within forest reserves are cautioned against making dangerous slashings, and must not fire them in very dry weather. If it is necessary to make slashings, or to burn them, ample notice must always be given the nearest forest officer before burning, so that he may take steps to reduce the danger to the minimum. If notice is not given, or if the ranger's instructions are not followed, the person responsible for the burning will be held strictly responsible for all damage to the reserve, and liable, in aggravated cases, to criminal prosecution.

 There is no desire to hamper the work of settlers and lumbermen, nor to limit the rights of property holders, but it is not just that other forests and improvements, whether owned privately or by the Government, should be endangered by carelessness.

 The utmost tact and vigilance should be exercised where settlers are accustomed to use fire in clearing land. Public sentiment is rightly in sympathy with home builders and the control of their operations should give the least possible cause for resentment and impatience with the reserve administration, but it should be exercised firmly none the less. Settlers should be shown the injury to their own interests, as well as to the public, which results from forest fires. Methods and times of burning should be discussed with them and, if possible, an amicable agreement secured to have no burning except when authorized by the forest officer and when he is present. But while the aim ought always to be toward cooperation and good will, it is equally important to have it well understood that reserve interests will be protected by every legal means. Where any tendency to ignore instructions is observed, notice must be given that action will be brought for any damage sustained by the United States and that willful negligence will be prosecuted criminally. If this is ignored and damage does result prosecution must be prompt and vigorous. Where there is sufficient reason to anticipate danger, as from a large slashing which it is announced will be burned at a dangerous time, injunction may be secured.

(p. 67)

 Similar means should be employed when reserves are endangered by railroads or logging operations on private lands, and prompt report of such conditions should be made to the Forester.
 
 

There is ample legal provision for the punishment of malice or carelessness with fires. The act of June 4, 1897, instructs the Secretary in charge of forest reserves to make provisions for their protection against fire, and provides for the punishment of any violation of his regulations. The act of May 5, 1900, prescribes a maximum fine of $1,000, or one year's imprisonment, or both, for building a fire and leaving it before it is totally extinguished. Any officer of the Forest Service may arrest violators of these laws.

 The fire laws of any State or Territory are applicable to forest reserves within its boundaries and the United States has recourse to them whenever necessary.

 The United States may also bring civil action to recover damages caused by fire, no matter how it was set. It is not necessary to prove malice, or even carelessness, or that the fire was set upon Government land. Any person responsible in any way for injury to Government property is liable for the actual damage.
 
 

Each supervisor is responsible for the patrol of his reserve, and will devise systems best suited to the locality.

(p. 68)

 Every ranger or guard must go to and fight every fire he sees or hears of at once, unless he clearly can not reach it, or is already fighting another fire. If he can not reach it, or is already fighting another fire. If he can not put it out alone, he must get help. The fact that it may not be on his district has no bearing unless he is certain another ranger is there already.

 Rangers on fire-patrol duty should avoid spending time and work in places or along routes where there is little danger or small outlook. Hours spent or miles ridden are in themselves small indications of efficient patrol. Often a short trip to a commanding point is better than a long ride through a wooded valley. During dry and dangerous periods the selection of headquarters, camping places, and routes should be made with the single object of preventing and discovering fires.

 Fires caused by lightning are not rare, especially in dry mountain regions. After every electric storm a special effort is needed to locate and extinguish any such fires before they are well under way.
 
 

When once a fire has spread over an acre or more, especially where much dead and down material makes it very hot, it may be so far beyond the control of one man that it is best to leave it and get help. The character and condition of the woods, the weather, and even the time of day, have so much to do with such cases that general directions have little value and all depends upon the experience and good judgment of the ranger.

 Generally, it may be said that the best tools for fighting fire are the shovel, mattock, and ax. The ranger should always carry at least shovel and ax during all the dangerous season.

 In damp, heavy timber usually travels slowly, and a few men, if persistent, can keep it in check by trenching, even though they may not extinguish it, and must continue the watch until rain falls.

(p. 69)

 In dry, open woods fire travels faster, and it is often best to go some distance to the most open and clean ground, and back fire from there. In handling back fires great care is needed to avoid useless burning; therefore, they should never be set except by forest officers, unless in great emergencies.

 The night or the early morning hours are the best time to work, whenever any choice of time exists, for nearly all forest fires die down more or less during the cool of the night and flare up again during the heat of the day.

 Following are several general principles to be borne in mind:

 (a) Protect the valuable timber rather than the brush or waste.

 (b) Never leave a fire, unless driven away, until it is put out.

 (c) Young saplings suffer more than old mature timber.

 (d) A surface fire in open woods, though not dangerous to old timber, does great harm by killing seedlings.

 (e) A fire rushes up hill, crosses a crest slowly, and is more or less checked in traveling down. Therefore, if possible, use the crest of the ridge and the bottom as lines of attack.

 (f) A good trail, a road, a stream, an open park, check the fire. Use them whenever possible.

 (g) Dry sand or earth thrown on a fire is usually as effective as water and easier to get.

 (h) A little thinking often saves labor and makes work successful. Ill-planned efforts suggested by haste and excitement rarely lead to success.

(p. 70)
 
 

Small fires, extinguished without difficulty by the officer who discovers them, may be reported at the end of the month. The supervisor should be notified at once of large ones which require help from residents or other rangers, purchase of supplies, or attendance for several days. But if help is needed, the forest officer on the ground should get it at once. He should hire men and messengers, if necessary, send for supplies, and notify the supervisor of the action taken. The supervisor will furnish any further help needed and telegraph the Forester if special authorization is required.

 In reporting upon fires, three classes should be distinguished, as follows:

 (a) Camp fires and other small fires covering not more than a few square rods.

 (b) Small forest fires, extinguished without any extra help or expense and generally not covering over 5 acres.

 (c) Large fires, requiring extra help and expense.

 Those of the first two classes may be included in one report at the end of the month. Give the number and location of each, with such information as to course and damage as seems necessary or is required by general instructions from the supervisor. Fires of the last class should be reported on separately. Cover all of the following points:

 1. Location.

 2. Damage done.

 (a) Number of acres burned over.

 (b) Number of acres of merchantable timber burned.

 (c) Number of feet B. M. of:

 (1) Green timber destroyed.

 (2) Dry timber destroyed.

 (d) Value of all timber destroyed.

 3. Probable cause.

 4. By whom was fire discovered?

 5. When was it discovered?

 6. When was it brought to notice of forest officer?

 7. When was the work of checking the fire begun?

 8. When was the work finished?

(p. 71)

 9. How many extra men were employed?

 10. Cost of fire:

 (a) For help (outside of rangers)

 (b) For materials, tools, etc.

 (c) Total cost.
 

Every forest supervisor is authorized, in person or through a subordinate, to hire temporary men, purchase material and supplies, and pay for their transportation from place to place to extinguish a fire; but when it is evident that the expense is liable to be over $300, he must at once telegraph the Forester for instructions to incur the additional expense. No expense for fighting a fire outside a reserve must be incurred unless the fire threatens it.

 Any person paid for services at a fire must sign a subvoucher for the amount received, to be transmitted with the supervisor's regular monthly account for the month in which the expense is incurred. Full directions for preparing accounts are printed on the back of all vouchers.

 Government employees and person having grazing or other permits within a forest reserve are not entitled to compensation for fighting fire.

 While the government is anxious to prevent and fight fires, only a limited amount of money can be devoted to this purpose. Experience has proved that usually a reasonable effort only is justified, and that a fire which can not be controlled by 20 to 40 men will run away from 100 or even more men, since heat and smoke in such cases make a direct fight impossible.

 Extravagant expenditures will not be tolerated. Fires are sometimes started for the sake of a job. In and about every reserve it is possible to enlist the cooperation of the better citizens, so that in time of need enough men of the right kind will be on hand. A crowd of men hastily gathered about a town without organization, interest, or experience, is valuable only as a last resort in extreme need.