INTRODUCTION The damage done by forest fires in the past has reached enormous proportions, but, until the last few years, it has not received the attention which so large a destructive agency deserves. To be sure, some of the worst conflagrations, such as those in the Adirondacks in 1903 and 1908, and those in the Northwest in 1910, have aroused considerable newspaper comment; but even then, the public interest has been more concerned with the threatened loss of life and possible damage to camps or village buildings, than with the enormous destruction of timber and consequent damage to the productivity of the forest. The growing scarcity of timber caused the lessons so forcibly taught by these big fires to be heeded by many, and the years 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912 and 1913 have seen many needed improvements made in methods of fire protection for forest regions. The importance of this subject has been realized by thinking men in this country for many years. Progress in forest fire legislation has gone hand and hand with the advance of forestry. This is only natural, for the practice of true forestry is impossible without the establishment of an adequate system of fire protection. In fact, this has in most cases been the first forestry measure adopted by the Federal Forest Service in its administration of the National Forests, and by the various states which have inaugurated forest policies. New York was the first State to formulate and enact practical laws for dealing with the protection of forests from fire. Lumbermen and land owners, also, have formed associations and devised methods for rendering their holdings as safe as possible from the fire danger. It is a well recognized fact that protection from fire is the first step which needs to be taken in the establishment of a scientific system for the management of timberlands. Without it, the application of even the most elementary principles of forestry is useless. [5] New York State profited by her experience in the devastating fires of 1908, and completely reorganized her fire protection system the following year. The new system will be considered in detail in these pages. The increase in size and efficiency of the fire fighting force has done much to lessen the damage done by forest fires within the last three years. Legislation, tending to increase the efficiency of the fire fighting force, has been secured. A number of years ago the indiscriminate setting of fires to clear land caused more forest fires than any other agency. Now, however, the law requires that no burning shall be done within the "fire towns "* of the Forest Preserve Counties, except under permit from the Conservation Commission. The clause compelling the "lopping" of the tops of all coniferous trees cut within the same territory decreases the fire danger on cut-over lands. These are but two examples of numerous laws which have been passed, and which have helped the State improve her system of fire protection. That there is still room for further improvement, without which our forest regions invite the enormous damage to property and possible loss of life attendant upon a severe forest fire, will be shown in the following pages. The number of fires which are caused every year by carelessness and avoidable accidents is appalling. The oft-repeated cautions which appear on fire notices posted in conspicuous places throughout the woods, are having some effect, but there are still hundreds of campers who, either through ignorance of the possible results of a forest fire, or through a criminal disregard of the rights and safety of others, fail to take the simplest precautions to prevent the spreading of their camp-fires. If this article shall cause a half dozen persons to desist from building their camp-fires against a fallen log, which might spread fire, or to hold a cigar stub or match until it is out, or until it can be thrown into a pool of water, it will have justified its existence. Few people have a definite idea of the vast areas of land in the forest regions of the State which have been burned over within recent years. The bad fires of the two years 1903 and 1908 burned over nearly a million acres of forest land within the Catskill and Adirondack Preserve Counties. *The forest towns in the central portion of the Adirondack and Catskill regions, where the State maintains a fire protective.organization. The success of all reforesting operations depends primarily on fire protection. Several million trees are being planted in New York State each year, both by the State and by private land ownThe importance of reforestation is indeed great, but, until fire protection is secured, planting is merely gambling with the ele ments instead of being a sure business investment. ers. HISTORICAL article to present a detailed Brief mention will be made It is not within the scope of this history of the forest fires of the past. of the worst ones and the causes will be analyzed so far as available records permit. The State of New York has, since 1891, kept a more or less accurate account of the fires which have occurred in the Forest Preserve. Frequent mention has been made, in articles treating of forest fires, of the famous Miramichi fire in New Brunswick in 1825, of the fire of Hinckley, Mich., in 1894 and of the terrible fire in Idaho in 1910. The contemporary newspaper accounts of the latter catastrophes give one an idea of the awful possibilities of a forest fire when conditions are suitable for its devolpment into a conflagration which is beyond the power of man to control. The Hinckley and Idaho disasters are regrettable, not so much for the enormous loss of property which they entailed, but for the fearful loss of life. We need not go outside our own State to find appalling instances of destruction by forest fires. The years 1899, 1903 and 1908 saw hundreds of thousands of acres burned over in the Adirondacks. The fire at Long Lake West in 1908 burned over some 30,000 acres in a day and did in the neighborhood of $130,000 worth of damage. If the "fire train" had not been on hand to succor the residents of the little hamlet at Long Lake West, the loss of life would have been great. Had the train arrived fifteen minutes after it did, not a soul in the place would have escaped alive. The years 1899 and 1903 were marked by little or no rainfall throughout the spring months. After the snow disappeared and exposed the dry leaves and litter on the ground to the hot rays of the spring sun, conditions were ideal for fires until the early summer, when the new foliage came out. In 1908, the drought did not come until well along in the summer; then, dry weather prevailed until the end of October. The worst fires occurred in September and October. The area burned over in the years 1903 and 1908 alone was about 832,000 acres, or 25 per cent. of the total of the total area of the Adirondack park. KINDS OF FOREST FIRES For a proper consideration of forest fires, it is necessary to divide them into three distinct classes, namely, (1) surface fires, (2) ground fires, and (3) crown fires. The damage caused by fires depends largely upon the kind of fire. The timber growth and debris on the land and the atmospheric conditions prevailing at the time the fire originates, are important factors in influencing the progress of the fire. For instance, a crown fire is practically unknown in the farming regions of the State, where forest growth occurs mainly in the form of comparatively small woodlots, containing principally hardwood trees, and practically surrounded by open fields. There are many factors which combine to influence the character of a forest fire when it has once been started. Most important of all is the condition of the ground and of the atmosphere as regards moisture content. In New York State, the seasons of the year when danger from forest fires is greatest, are usually during the early spring, immediately after the snow has gone off the ground and before vegetation has become green, and in the fall after the leaves have fallen from the trees and the vegetation on the ground has become dry. A few days of sunshine then renders this dry and dead vegetable material highly inflammable and only a spark is needed to kindle the fire. The amount of inflammable material on the ground is also an important factor in determining the severity and extent of forest fires. In this factor may be found the reason for the large amount of attention which has been given by lumbermen and foresters in this country, during recent years, to devising practical methods for removing the slash left on the ground after lumbering. Of course the amount of this inflammable material depends entirely |