- Author
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Title
- Wildfire: A Story of Modern Firefighting.
- Coporate
- Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC
- Report
- PA 993, October 1972, 27 p.
- Distribution
- Available from Government Printing Office
- Keywords
- wildland fires | forest fires | fire fighting
- Abstract
- In the late 1800's the West was being settled, but the country was far from tamed. Man fought man in the pursuit of land, cattle, gold, and a civilized way of life. One by one the problems between men were overcome - peace treaties were signed, range wars were settled, and outlaws were sought by vigilantes and lawmen. Still many enemies common to all men remained. The Indians and the frontiersmen shared the struggle against the freezing winters of high mountains and the burning droughts of parched deserts; they survived the grasshopper and locust plagues of 1874; they fought fires that raged through acres and acres of grazing land and virgin timber - destroying vast resources that would require years to replenish. This pulbication is about the battle against wildfire. Forest Service records describe the large fires of the past and provide an outstanding contrast to modern-day firefighting methods and equipment designed to keep wildfires small. A few survivors from those devastating infernos have told the stories of how poorly-equipped the early day firefighter was to combat wildfire - to "Hit'Em Hard and Keep'Em Small."