Treesearch

How much does it cost? This is one of the most common questions asked of FUEL-BREAK researchers--and until now one of the toughest to answer. We are able to tell how a job is done, but cost information has usually been hard to obtain because of the many variables and the hard- to-measure "contributed time" involved.

Three years' experience in spraying regrowth of chamise-sage brush types has shown that broadcast chemical spraying by either tractor boom or helicopter is effective. On some of the FUEL-BREAK demonstration and action projects, a single application of hormone type chemicals has killed almost all of the brush sprouts and seedlings, so that the remaining plants could be easily killed by hand spraying. On other projects a second broadcast application was needed to reduce the number of sprouting plants to the point where they could be controlled by hand spraying. This degree of control from...

One of the first fuel-break demonstrations was started in 1958 at Trabuco Oaks in Orange County. On a wide strip adjacent to this community, the California Division of Forestry, assisted by the FUEL-BREAK staff, set out to control the brush sprouts which were developing rapidly after a fire in 1957. Hormone-type chemicals were used to kill the sprouts.

In the mass fires resulting from air attack during World War II, many people lost their lives in shelters in fire areas. The greatest number of deaths occurred in basements or makeshift shelters. In many cases, positions of the corpses indicated that death came peacefully and unexpectedly. A frequent assumption is that death was due to carbon monoxide poisoning. However, cause of death has also been attributed to such effects as asphyxiation, the effects of inhaling hot blasts of air, and overheating of the shelter occupants as a result of heat transfer into the shelter. This study...

Laboratory tests and small-scale field trials have shown the insecticide lindane to be highly toxic to pine engraver beetles. On the basis of that information, the insecticide was applied to fresh logging slash heavily infested with pine engraver beetles at Challenge Experimental Forest in 1959. Costs were reasonable and no insurmountable problems were encountered.

This report summarizes progress from November 1, 1958, to April 30, 1960, in a study conducted by the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station of the Forest Service in cooperation with the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization. Called PROJECT FIRE MODEL for convenience, the project sought to develop and study a laboratory-scale fire which would provide a diagnostic model of a steady-state, free-burning fire in solid fuel. This publication is included in a four part series. The other parts of the series can be found through the following links: Progress Report #2: Project...

Controlled pollination in forest tree breeding requires pollen of known germination capacity. Methods of determining pollen viability include germination in a hanging drop, in a moist atmosphere, on agar gel, or in a sugar solution (DUFFIELD, 1954; DILLON et al., 1957). Errors commonly arise in the application of these techniques because maximum pollen germination and growth is generally attained only when the grains are aggregated (HOLUBINSKI, 1945), or at optimal concentration of the pollen (BEAMS et al., 1947). Furthermore, fungal infection commonly occurs when pollen is germinated in...

Christmas tree growers in California have asked geneticists to help improve the characteristics of the - wild species they are cultivating. The preferred Christmas trees of California are Shasta red fir (Abies magnifica A. Murr.), white fir (A. concolor (Gord. & Glend.) Lindl.), and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). The individuals of these species are quite diverse. Trees of all shapes, sizes, and needle characteristics can be found in young plantations or natural stands. Unique combinations of these characters are found in some trees. Many outstanding types could be...

The Four-Corners Fuel-Break is within the 1956 Inaja burn, in the San Diego River drainage just above El Capitan Reservoir–a critical source of local water in San Diego County. When completed the break will connect cleared areas near Four Corners with open land near the river. The break, part of the pre-attack plan, will provide an excellent line location to cut off a fire originating on the north side of the river either below or above the break. Fuel-Breaks of this kind in the original brushfields would have helped greatly in confining the Inaja fire to a smaller acreage.