Title: American forestry
Identifier: americanforestry221916amer (find matches)
Year: 1910-1923 (1910s)
Authors: American Forestry Association
Subjects: Forests and forestry
Publisher: Washington, D. C. : American Forestry Association
Contributing Library: The LuEsther T Mertz Library, the New York Botanical Garden
Digitizing Sponsor: The LuEsther T Mertz Library, the New York Botanical Garden

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CAUSE OF THE FIRE—AND FUTURE PREVENTION 525 character of the timber is, to a considerable extent, dis- appointing from a commercial point of view. Probably 60 to 70 per cent of the trees are black spruce, 10 to 15 per cent white spruce, 15 to 20 per cent aspen poplar and balm of Gilead, and 5 per cent miscellaneous species, mostly cedar, paper birch and jack pine. Hardly 10 to causing the loss of not less than 84 lives. Numerous other fires had occurred, both before and since, so that there were large areas of fire-killed timber, as well as of clearing slash, ready to hand, constituting the worst kind of a fire trap. To a certain extent, therefore, the recent disaster is the result of secondary fires. Previous ex-
Text Appearing After Image:
Pkoiograpli by British and Colonial Press, Toronto^ THE TEMPORARY MORGUE AT MATHESON These two tents were erected at Matheson for the reception of bodies brought in from the surrounding district. The soldiers shown are members of the 228th Northern Fusileers, who are searching for bodies and otherwise assisting with rehef work. A number of coffins are shown, some empty and some containing charred remains. The work of rescue and rehef was quickly organized and admirably conducted. 15 per cent of the forest contains material of saw-timber size; from 35 to 50 per cent contains material suitable only for pulpwood or fuel; from 35 to 45 per cent of the area is either muskeg, near muskeg, or scrubwood of a size hardly fit for fuel. The soil, when cleared, is for tlie most part excellent for farming. Drainage is, of course, necessary in the case of swampy areas. Consider- able settlement has already taken place, and the region is destined to become an excellent agricultural section. At the time of Dr. Fernow's visit, fires had been pretty well kept out of the country along the Transcon- tinental, but only the year previous (JQll), the terrible Porcupine fire had swept over a large stretch of country around Porcupine, and south and east from that place, destroying the timber on hundreds of square miles and perience in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and many other parts of the country, shows that such fires are more serious than fires in green timber. This is due to the fact that the first fire does not consume the green timber entirely, but sweeps through the tops, perhaps burning out the roots as well, killing all growth and leaving it to become exceedingly inflammable and to con- stitute food for a second or succeeding conflagration. It usually requires not less than three or four successive fires to completely clean up an area of standing timber. While the recent fire has furnished the finishing touch over considerable scattered areas, large amounts of highly inflammable material still exist over the great majority of the recent burn. There will still, therefore, be great danger of serious fires in the region swept by the

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