UPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION BULLETIN No. 6 A Forest Fire Prevention Manual for the School Children of California 4*1 PREPARED FOR THE Superintendent of Public Instruction BY THE State Forester AND United States Forest Service CALIFORNIA STATE PRINTING OKF1CK SACRAMENTO, 1922 17060 CONTENTS. PACK LESSON 1 The Forests of California 7 LESSON 2 The Effect of Fires 13 LESSON 3 Causes of Fires 17 LESSON 4 Fire Prevention 22 LESSON 5 How Fires Are Detected and Fought 20 FOREST MAP _. . FOREWORD. To THE TEACHERS OF CALIFORNIA : Permit me to call your attention to the fact that section 1665 of the Political Code, as revised by the last legislature, makes it obligatory upon teachers to give instruction in fire prevention. This includes the prevention of fire not only in buildings but also in forests and fields. The State and the United States Forestry Departments have prepared this bulletin in order that the matter of fire prevention may be ade- quately presented. I am sure I need not urge the law upon the teach- ers of California. They have always responded whenever a public need has been brought to their attention. California has wonderful forests that adorn the mountain regions. They are the playgrounds of hundreds of thousands of the people; they are the source of much building material ; they contain the springs of great rivers that make the plains fertile. They must be preserved not only for the sake of future generations but also for the present generation. Destructive fires sweep over great sections of the forest each year. Many of these fires are due to carelessness. The teaching of fire prevention in forests is a great public need. I appeal to the teachers to give this matter earnest attention during each school year, especially during forest fire prevention week, and I know that this appeal will not be in vain. Very truly yours, WILL C. WOOD, Superintendent of Public Instruction. SHOWINC FOREST ZONES LESSON No. 1. THE FORESTS OF CALIFORNIA. Before learning the effect of forest fires and how they are detected and fought, you will want to know more about where our forests are located and their value to the State in various ways. Location. The forests of California follow the mountain ranges of the State which surround the large central valley. This forest region is roughly shaped like a horseshoe in outline, with the toe of the shoe at Mount Shasta, one side extending down the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the southern boundary of Tulare County, the other down the Coast ranges to the southern boundary of Monterey County. The higher portions of the Coast Mountains of Southern California below Monterey County contain at high elevations irregular and scattering areas of forest, but over 99 per cent of the mountain land bearing forests in the State lies north of a line east and west through Bakersfield. Area. Our uncut forests cover an area of 13,500,000 acres, which is practi- cally 13 per cent of the total land area of California. This area is slightly larger than that of San Bernardino County, which is the biggest county in California. Two million acres, an area equal in size to Trinity County, have already been cut over. This cut-over area, wherever it has been protected from fire, the great enemy of the forest, is now growing another crop of trees. But you will find many places in the mountains where fire has not been kept out of cut-over lands, and there all the timber and small trees have been burned up. Kinds of Trees in Our Forests. As you leave the valley and start up toward the mountains, you first enter the foothill region of our State, which borders the great valley at elevations of from 1000 feet to 2500 feet above sea level, and there the oaks, of which we have some sixteen varieties, are the most impor- tant trees. The trees in this belt are of use to us as fuel, but do not make good lumber because they are crooked and often rotten at the heart. As you continue to climb above the foothill zone, at an eleva- tion of from 2500 to 7000 feet, you will find our good forests of pine and fir timber. The commercial timber trees of California that is to say, the trees that are manufactured into lumber, belong to the conifer family, so called because they produce their fruit, or seeds, in a cone that is covered with tough, woody scales to protect the seeds. The most valuable timber trees, in order of importance, are the yellow pine, redwood, sugar pine, Douglas fir, white fir and incense cedar. Sugar pine and yellow pine trees. There are two varieties of redwood, or sequoia the coast redwood, whi'ch occurs in a narrow belt of low elevation, between the Coast Range and the ocean, from the southern boundary of Monterey County to the northern line of the State, and the giant sequoia or Big tree, which occurs in groups at high elevations through the Sierra Nevadas from Tulare to Placer counties. The giant sequoias are the largest and grandest trees in the world, and our State is the only region in the world in which these most wonderful trees are found. While a large amount of lumber is being cut from the coast redwood, the Big trees are being preserved by the government because of their beauty and size. The General Sherman tree, in the Sequoia National Park, is considered the largest sequoia. It is 286 feet tall and 30 feet in diameter above the root-swelling. It is known that trees of this species live to be 3000 years old. The forests that occur in the northern Coast Range and in the Sierra Nevada Mountains are made up generally of several tree species mingled together. Yellow pine, sugar pine, white fir and incense cedar are Redwood timber along a State highway. nearly always found together at elevations over 3000 feet, except on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where but little sugar pine is found. The forests of the northern coast ranges contain much Douglas fir timber, but it is never found in the forest south of the San Joaquin River. Amount of Standing Timber and What Is Annually Cut. The California forests contain about 300 billion feet of timber suitable for lumber. Almost exactly one-third of this amount is owned by the government, and is located within our seventeen national forests. Some of the remainder is in our national parks and State forests. The timber in California, if cut into lumber, would build 43 million 5-room houses, which would provide shelter for nearly twice as many people as there are in the United States today, or it would furnish all the wood for building and for fuel that all the people in the United States would need for nearly eight years. The cut from the California forests each year is about one and four- tenths billion feet, board measure, and only four states now produce more lumber annually than California. These states, in order of amount of lumber cut, are Washington, Oregon, Louisiana and Mississippi. 217060 10 But lumber is not the only product of our forests. Our forests are of very large value in conserving the water which falls in the form of rain and snow. The ground, generally overlaid with a blanket of decay- ing mold and duff, makes a reservoir which absorbs large amounts of water. It acts like a blotter, and only after the ground is full of water does the water begin to run off. The water of the streams of California is of untold value in the life of its people. It is not only used for domestic purposes of all sorts, but for irrigation and for the develop- ment of hydro-electric power. California is famed all over the world Snow on Mount Shas hich comes water for power and irrigation. as a state where crops of valuable food products are grown. It would not have this reputation if it did not possess the water which, used in irrigation, makes certain the maturing of the crops of citrus fruits, raisins, peaches, apricots, prunes, walnuts, etc. It is estimated that there can be developed from Californias streams over 7,000,000 horse- power of electric energy. Already, of this amount, over 3,000,000 horsepower has been developed. This electric energy is a most impor- tant factor in seeing that the wheels of industry are kept constantly moving. So you will see how important it is that the forests, which conserve the waters of these streams used for the purposes mentioned above, are protected. Many people like to go to the woods for rest and recreation. With the coming of the automobile and the building of better roads, the people are going in constantly increasing numbers into the mountains to take advantage of the streams and lakes, the shade of the trees, and the 11 restful quiet which can be found nowhere else. With the coming of these people in increasing thousands every year, there must be places established to provide for those who do not know much about taking care of themselves in the woods; and so, as you travel the main high- ways through our mountain country, you will find public camp grounds established by various public agencies, where there are camp tables, fire- places and sanitary conveniences for the use of those who desire to stop and camp. The recreational resource of our mountains can be counted as one of the largest and most important, and it is estimated that over a million and a half people enjoy those good things which our forests have to offer every year. As you travel through the forests of California you will find large openings, glades or meadows, in which grass grows abundantly. Also, in the open stands of timber, you will notice various kinds of herbage. A reservoir in the Stanislaus National Forest used for both water power and recreation. Many of the grasses are palatable for cattle and sheep, and for years in the mountains it has been a common sight to see these animals eating this good food during the summer season, extending generally from the first of June to the last of September. Within the seventeen national forests of the State there are grazed 225,000 cattle and horses and 550,000 sheep and goats each year. These stock are grazed under permit issued by the government, and the rangers are there to see that these animals stay where they belong- and that no more come in than are permitted. In furnishing this forage to the stock, our forests play another important part in the economic welfare of the State, as the meat products which come from the stock grazed in our forests help give life and sustenance to thousands of Calif ornians. So. you will see that the food that cattle and sheep find in the mountains in the summer means that they do not have to be fed with hay and grain, which can either be used for feeding the stock in the winter, or the grain made into flour. 12 Cattle and horses grazing on a national forest. QUESTIONS. 1. Where do the forests of California occur? 2. What is the acreage of uncut timber land in our State ? 3. What acreage of forest land has been cut over 1 4. What are the most important trees in the foothill region, and for what are these trees used ? 5. What is meant by the term "commercial timber"? 6. Name six species of trees that, are cut into lumber, in order of importance. 7. How much timber is there in the forests of our State, and what proportion of this amount is included in our national forests ? 8. How do our forests conserve water ? 9. How many people visit our forests for recreation every year ? 10. How much stock is grazed on our national forests in California? 13 LESSON No. 2. THE EFFECT OF FIRES. Action of Fire. In the later lessons you will learn how fires are prevented from starting in the forests and how they are put ou,t if they do start. But first you will want to know why it is necessary to fight forest fires, so we shall describe what fires do in timber and in brush. Timber fires When a fire burns through a forest of growing trees it finds a large variety of fuel. On the ground is a layer of needles, twigs, bits of bark, which have fallen from the trees themselves, mixed with grass and weeds, all of it very dry and easily burned during the summer or what we call the fire season. Here and there is an old tree Effect of a heavy fire on timber. that has died and fallen on the ground. Perhaps- there is a small open spot in the timber, that is covered with brush or woody shrubs, which are also very inflammable. So when the fire burns, this sort of material is what it feeds on, and some people have thought it was a good thing to get rid of this, simply because it can not be used to make lumber. But all of this litter gradually decays and then acts as a fertilizer for the growing trees, just as gardens need to have fertilizer to grow best. This litter is also very useful as a water conserver and to prevent erosion when heavy rains occur on the mountains. So fires in the forests not only destroy the timber and ground cover, but by burning the litter on the ground cause the water to run off faster after a storm, and this causes erosion. Besides all this, though, you would find in this forest lots of little young trees, some in clumps and some growing alone. So when the fire burns through the forest, it kills many of these young trees, because they are very tender, and this is one thing we are trying to avoid, because after the bigger trees the old ones are cut to make lumber for houses and boxes and all the things that wood is used for, these little trees will 14 keep on growing and in time will make a second forest of big trees on the same land as the first. And now we are ready to look at the big trees of pine and fir and cedar. The first thing we shall see is that some of them have already been burned near the ground, so that part of the bark and wood is gone, and what we call a fire scar has been made on the tree. This is because for centuries there have been fires in the forests, and gradually the wood is burned away at the base of the trees, forming these fire scars. So now the fire comes to one of these scarred trees, burning through the needles and twigs. All over the scar, if the tree is a pine or a fir, What a ground fire does to the little trees. is pitch that the tree has put out trying to heal the wound. The fire catches in this and finally sets the wood of the tree afire, and that tree will burn for hours, until, finally, perhaps so much wood is burned out that the tree falls to the ground and lies there and rots and does no good to any one. Maybe a little farther on the fire comes to a thick group of big trees, with lots of needles and twigs on the ground and a dead log besides. Just then a puff of wind comes along, and the fire, with so much fuel to burn, flames up to the crown of the trees and roars there for a minute, but by that time it has burned away all the leaves of the trees, and they die, though the trunks will stand there for years, until finally they rot and fall. So while the fire has not killed or injured all the big trees from which lumber comes, it has burned down some of them, and the heat and flames have killed others. Probably a fifteenth or a tenth of all the trees has been destroyed, and just so much wood that we need has been spoiled for our use. Brush fires Let's suppose that as the fire goes on it comes out of the timber onto a steep south slope, where, instead of the trees standing close together, there is only a tree maybe every two hundred feet. And on the ground it looks as if there was nothing but brush, about five feet high and so thick it is hard even to crawl through. But if we look closely we will see many young trees growing under the brush, or even 15 a little taller than it, that have come from seed from these scattered old trees. These brush fields have been caused by the fires of the past, the same ones that scarred the big trees in the timber, because every now and then one of these fires became so hot that it killed nearly all the old Effect of repeated ground fires on a big pine tree. trees and allowed the brush, which is no good for timber, to come in and take the ground. When the fire comes to this brush field it is going to be very hot, because it can reach the crown of the brush as well as all the litter of leaves on the ground. So it will roar through the brush field and burn up all the small trees that would have made a new forest if fire had only been prevented. Besides, when all the brush is burned down, the rain will wash the soil off. this steep slope and carry it down the streams, to fill up reservoirs and harbors. And with some of the soil gone, it will be just so much harder for trees to start on that mountain side again. It may be fifty years before trees can grow there once more. Grass and grain fires Grass and grain fires in the valleys and foot- hills of California do a large amount of damage every year. Much stock feed is destroyed and thousands of acres of standing grain are 16 The result of bad lumbering and repeated fires. burned, mainly through carelessness. This results in a serious loss to many ranchers and stockmen, as well as a direct loss of grain and pas- ture to all of the people of the State. These fires are usually handled by the State forest rangers, who cooperate with the local settlers and farmers in putting them out. The results of fire protection. Little trees coming up through the brush. QUESTIONS. 1. What are the principal ways in which fire damages the forest? 2. Why should the small trees in a forest be protected from fire ? 3. Why are fires in brush fields damaging ? 4. What is the cause of brush fields ? 5. Why are fires in grass and grain fields damaging 1 17 LESSON No. 3. CAUSES OF FIRES. In the lesson preceding this, you learned what serious damage results from fire. The question naturally follows: "What causes these fires"? To answer this question, let us classify the agencies causing these fires into two general divisions those caused by nature and those caused by man. 18 In the division of nature-caused fires the most destructive is : Lightning. Throughout the summer months the forest regions of California are very often visited by thunder storms, often accompanied by rainfall, but occasionally not. Bolts of lightning strike trees and, especially when dead, ignite the wood, throw sparks into the surrounding inflammable material, and start forest fires. In California, lightning storms in this way start 400 to 500 fires every summer. There is no way by which lightning fires can be prevented. They usually occur in the higher mountains, and the best that can be done is to put out immediately such fires, before they cover any considerable area. Sometimes a very bad storm sets several hundred fires in one day, and then the rangers have a great deal of trouble in putting them all out. By far the most serious and devastating fires result from man's carelessness or ignorance. A camp fire built by a careless camper. 19 Camp Fires. Camp fires carelessly built or left untended spread through the dry undergrowth, and in time become forest or brush or grass fires, destroy- ing the beautiful camping places of the State. In the next lessons you will learn how every one can build safe camp fires and help in preventing such serious losses. Fires are sometimes set by donkey engines used on timber cuttings. Smokers. Careless hunters and fishermen traveling through the woods are responsible for many fires, by either throwing away lighted matches, pipe embers, smoldering cigars or cigarettes. Smokers traveling by automobile likewise are guilty of careless disposal of their smoking 20 material, which often falls into masses of dry, inflammable pine needles and grass, flaring into forest fires with the first wind that comes up. Much grain and pasture land is burned over from the same cause. Industrial Fires. Certain industries of man find it necessary to use fire in the woods. The operation of logging engines, railroad engines, and the clearing of land by ranchers, result in many forest fires through lack of care. Sparks from engines can be prevented by the use of proper spark arrest- ers on the smokestacks. If small fires do start once in a while, imme- diate attention to them will prevent damage to timber and watershed A fire on a logging area caused by carelessness. brush cover. Ranchers can prevent fire escaping by using care and burning brush and debris only when there is no danger of a fire result- ing. This means burning brush after the fall rains begin, and not during the dry season. Incendiary Fires. Malicious and criminal people sometimes start fires in the forest, as well as in towns. While their number is few, the fires they start some- times do much damage and are hard to put out. Public sentiment, with the help of law officers, can run down those who wilfully set fires, and punish them as they justly deserve. - QUESTIONS. 1. Into what two general divisions can the causes of forest fires be divided ? 2. Name the way in which nature starts forest fires. 3. Name the ways in which man causes forest fires. 4. How do smokers start forest fires? 5. How do campers start forest fires ? 6. When can brush be safely burned? 22 LESSON No. 4. FIRE PREVENTION. Since you have learned how fires are started and what damage they cause, you will next want to know how many of them can be prevented altogether. If every one who goes into the fields and mountains would learn and would follow the woodsmen 's rules in the handling of fires, a very large number of the destructive blazes that start now from human carelessness would never take place. How the woodsman builds his camp fire out in an open place. Remember that good woodsmen build small camp fires, away from any living trees, large logs or green brush, on a piece of ground that has been cleared of all leaves and trash. They never build huge bon- fires in windy weather or where there is the slightest danger of their fires getting away. How to Put Out a Camp Fire. Good woodsmen never leave camp until they have put enough water on their fires and have covered them up with earth (to know for certain the fires are entirely out), at the same time cleaning up and burying all refuse that has accumulated in the camp, that has not been burned, so that the person who may move in after they leave will have a clean and attractive place in which to camp, instead of a blackened waste, with cans and refuse scattered all around. 23 How to Prevent Smokers' Fires. Good woodsmen make sure that in any matches they may light, or tobacco they may be smoking, the sparks are completely out before they throw them away, as they know that the thoughtless tossing of a lighted A careless camper's fire in the brush. cigarette or match into a bunch of dry grass or down among some dry pine needles may start a serious fire that may burn up valuable grain fields or pastures, and houses, or destroy large bodies of timber before it is stopped. 24 A public camp ground maintained by the Forest Service. How to Prevent Industrial Fires. Good woodsmen see to it that any machinery that is used in the fields or forests, such as engines and tractors, are in such shape that sparks can not get out of their smokestacks, or burning particles of Campers in the forest. carbon blow out, to set fire to the dry brush, timber, grass or grain in which they may be working. If the woodsmen do find a fire they try very hard to put it out themselves, but if they find that they can not do this they get word at once to the nearest United States forest officer or State fire ranger or warden to get help to put it out. 25 State and Federal Fire Laws. To be sure that those persons who are careless with fire are taught how dangerous this is, the government and most of the states have passed laws which fix severe penalties for failure to handle fire in the way good woodsmen should. The State of California has a number of such laws which have penalties of from fifteen days to six months in jail, with fines of from fifty to five hundred dollars, if the laws are broken. Signs are posted throughout the country, calling attention to the fire laws. Result of a careless camper. Neither these nor any other signs giving valuable information to the public should be mutilated, and you can give good service by helping to protect them. These laws were passed to help reduce the number of fires that could be prevented if all people were as careful as they should be in their use of fire. There will always be some fires in the forests and fields which will be caused by nature from lightning, and perhaps some will result from purely accidental causes, such as from the breaking of power lines, but if each one of you will adopt as his motto "Help Prevent Fires," and will do his utmost to follow in the woodsman's footsteps in his use of fire, the losses and damage from all except those caused by nature or accident will be averted. QUESTIONS. 1. What kind of a fire does a good woodsman build ? 2. How does he prepare and decide upon a place in which to build it ? 3. What does he do with his camp fire and the refuse in his camp before he leaves it? 4. What does a good woodsman do with a lighted match, or tobacco he may have been smoking, before he throws it away? 5. Has California laws against carelessness with fire, and what are the penalties for disobeying them? 26 LESSON No. 5. HOW FIRES ARE DETECTED AND FOUGHT. In the other lessons you have learned about our forests, why and how fires damage them, how fires are caused and how many of them can be prevented. Now you will want to know how fires are detected and fought in case they do start. A Forest Service lookout station, 27 In cities, towns and other places of human habitation, fires are usually discovered as soon as they break out, and the alarm is given. When you. travel in the mountains you will see that extensive areas of our forests, however, are so thinly populated, and with such obstructed views because of mountain ranges and deep canyons, that fires might become very large before they were discovered if some special means of detection were not employed. Lookouts. So you will find that careful watch is maintained over such areas by stationing men on the highest peaks to act as lookouts and by placing fire guards to patrol along ridges and other routes where they have a good view of areas in which fires are likely to occur. The lookout men go to their stations on the high mountain peaks early in the summer and remain constantly on duty until the first rains come in the fall. Food supplies are sent to them by the rangers. They occupy small buildings with windows on all sides a "ribbon" of glass entirely around the building. These lookout men do not go to fires, but report them imme- diately to the rangers. Ordinarily the reports are telephoned, but in a few localities where there are no telephone lines the heliograph is used for this purpose. This instrument flashes signals by means of a mirror and the sun's rays, using the telegraph or some other code. But this can be used only on sunny days and is, therefore, useless in cloudy weather and when the sun is obscured by haze and smoke from forest fires. In addition, all people within or near the forests (miners, stockmen, hunters, campers, etc.) are constantly on the watch for fires, and report them immediately to the forest rangers if help is needed in putting them out. Telephone Lines. And, as you go through the mountains, you will find that a very good system of telephone lines is maintained, in order that reports may reach the rangers without delay, and that the forests are also patrolled by airplanes, from which fires are reported by radio to the rangers on the ground. Ranger Stations. Here and there throughout the mountains you will come across ranger stations, which are the homes of the rangers and are located at central points within their respective districts, so that people can find them easily. During the summer months these rangers are assisted by guards, patrolmen and firemen. Before the season opens they see that there is an ample supply of fire-fighting equipment, well distributed to points where it will most likely be needed in case of fire. This equipment con- sists of axes, shovels, rakes, hoes, canteens and cooking utensils. It must be kept in good condition and ready to use at all times, because a fire is likely to start at any moment. The rangers also have arrange- ments made with merchants, garagemen, ranchers and employers of 28 t labor, so that when big fires are reported they can, on very short notice, get men for fire fighters, transport them to the fire line, and forward food supplies and equipment. A fire discovered from the lookout. How Fires Are Put Out. When the report of a fire is received the ranger or one of his assistants may go to it alone, if it is very small, or three or four men, with rations for two days, may be sent. If the report indicates that the fire is likely to become a big one, a large number of men with fire-fighting tools Forest patrolman telephoning the ranger station about a fire. are sent as rapidly as possible, and food supplies sufficient for several days, and other equipment, may follow by slower transportation, because the rangers always keep working at the fire until it is completely out, and do not want to waste time in going back and forth for food and tools. Small fires in grass and ground litter can often be beaten out with branches, sacks, shovels, etc. Brush fires, if burning fiercely, are not so easily handled, and it is usually necessary to clear a wide trail or fire-line, which the flames can not cross, some distance in advance of the fire. In clearing this fire-line advantage is taken of open spaces in the brush, which will permit the work to be done more rapidly, and of ridges, where the fire does not usually burn so fiercely. Some- times back-firing is resorted to very successfully. This consists of build- ing a fire along a road or trail, or other favorable place where it can be Meyers Ranger Station, El Dorado National Forest. properly controlled, and allowing it to burn back to the main fire, where they both go out for lack of further material to burn. A back-fire, however, if not carefully handled is likely to get beyond control. It should be used only by experienced fire fighters. A strong fire through the tops or crowns of trees is almost impossible to control until there is a change in the wind, or other favorable conditions arise. In fact, in all fire fighting, advantage must be taken of every natural condition. A fire may burn very rapidly up steep canyon sides, but may be stopped easily at the top of a ridge ; fires die down during the night, and the best time for fighting them is immediately after daybreak. What You Can Do to Prevent Fires. So you should remember that it is the duty of every one who goes into the forests, whether on business or pleasure, to aid in the suppression of fires, as well as in the prevention. Furthermore, you should make it a point to influence others to do the same. You should get acquainted with the rangers and know how you can reach them quickly in emer- gencies. If a fire is discovered that you can extinguish alone, you should, of course, do so, making certain that no embers remain that might start it up again. If the fire is too large to handle alone, you should report it at once to the nearest forest officer or State ranger or QUESTIONS. 1. Name three ways in which forest fires may be detected and reported. 2. What arrangements do rangers make in advance, so as to be ready when big fires break out? 3. What would you do, if you should discover a small fire ? A large one ? 4. How would you extinguish a small fire in grass or brush? SOUTHERN BRANCH UNIVER ' TY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRAF LOS ANGELES. CALIF. 17060 3-22 25M