Book Reviews

The following are excerpts from SWOAM's membership newsletter.

Forest Life and Forest Trees

John S. Springer
Published by New Hampshire Publishing Company
Somersworth, NH, 1971 (reprint) 292 pages

Book review by SWOAM member John Dudley

This Maine classic, first published in 1851, gives a wonderful picture of our Maine woods between 1825 and 1850. The first part details all the steps relating to the logging operation, from cruising for the pine, making the logging camp and hovel, laying out the sled roads, and moving men and supplies in for the winter.

At one point he describes how oxen and their loaded sleds went through the ice on Baskahegan Lake. Aware that such a problem might arise, the order of travel had been planned, first was the lightest yoke followed, at a considerable distance, by a yoke with a load of hay and provisions. Next came a four ox-team with a heavier load, and the final four ox-team with the heaviest load. They started across the lake as the sun sank into the western woods. The back three sleds all went through the ice. The process used to extract the animals, sleds, and cargo from the icy waters is described in chapter four.

Springer tells about the six days a week of hard work, and how the choppers and teamsters spent Sunday. One activity was to go hunting. Moose and deer were favored for they could add variety to the meals. Wolves were shot and trapped because they were a scourge to the oxen. The lunk soos were feared and avoided.

Parts of this book are writings from others. A description of an expedition to “Kaatdn” is one of these. Another borrowed section details the Bangor Flood of 1846, and a third, the Miramichi Fire of October 6, 1825.

Readers who grew-up hearing of pumpkin pine, logging camps, and log drives will marvel on how little things changed between 1825 and 1945. Readers from a different culture, but with an interest in the wood lot, will enjoy reading about how things were done on their wood lots in olden times.

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History of the Maine Woods

Philip T. Coolidge
Printed by Furbush-Roberts
Bangor, Maine - 1963

Book review by John Dudley, SWOAM Member

"Dedicated to all who work or play in our northern woods"

This book "is not a collection of bear stories, or of loggers’ profanity, nor of personalities or local events, except in so far as these have entered into the essential history of the woods." However, as a collector of and writer about the local history of a rural Maine community, I have found Coolidge to be invaluable in that he places local activities into the statewide context.

With the present political controversy about snaring coyotes and methods of bear hunting, it is interesting to examine what Coolidge wrote about hunting and bounties. The first bounty law appears to have been enacted in 1832 providing bounties of $3 on bear, $8 on wolf, and $1 on bobcats and lynx. During that first year the state paid bounties for 726 bears, 138 cats and 2 wolves. The first closed season on any fur-bearing animal was established in 1866.

Between 1909 and 1954, a total of 27,454 animals were caught and bounties of over $300,000 were paid. The porcupine bounty of a quarter was raised to half a dollar in 1955. Town clerks in places like Alexander had “bounty books” in which they recorded amounts paid to those who supplemented their incomes, and occasionally the soup pot, by hunting. In Alexander, between 1927 and 1939, 103 men turned-in porcupine feet for the bounty. The average population for that period was 302 men, women and children. The top hunters all lived in “Tuf End” which may indicate the economic importance of bounty hunting.

Coolidge states that the usefulness of the bounty is a subject for heated argument, and that no animal, except perhaps the wolf has been exterminated by it. It is this type of information that Coolidge gives about all aspects of the history of the Maine woods. A few other subjects covered include paper mills (When was each built and what was its capacity?), the CCC (Where were those 11 camps?), the Aroostook War (What did this have to do with white pine?), and such personalities as Moses Greenleaf of East Andover, Austin Cary of East Machias, and Park Holland of East Eddington. I mention these three because they too were authors, as well as experts in woods lure.

In “A Brief Look Ahead” Coolidge states that permanent roads permit better silviculture through more frequent cuttings, and that landowners should be educated that little trees grow to be big marketable trees. Besides being a source of woods history, Coolidge is good reading.

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Maine's Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

Mark McCollough, Charles Todd, Beth Swartz, Phillip deMaynadier, and Heather Givens
Published by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
41 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333-0041
2003. 120 pages each 8 ½ by 11; $10.00 + $3.50

Book review by SWOAM member John Dudley

I became aware of this fine book while attending a SFI workshop for loggers on wildlife management. It has an attractive cover by Mark McCollough showing all 49 of these rare critters, said image is also available as a poster from IF&W.

The first part of the book describes its purpose, history of the Maine’s Endangered Species Act, a description of the Act, plus management of and ways to protect this wildlife. This book does not address plants.

Next follows a two-page spread on each endangered and threatened animal that includes a picture and word description of the animal. A discussion of the animal’s range and habitat is augmented by a map of Maine that shows in a glance its range and known locations. Other sections on each animal tell of its life history, what threatens it, and what can be done to manage and conserve it.

It is these maps that are beneficial to the woodland owner, forester and logger. My woodland in Alexander is in the range of only seven of the forty-nine listed animals. This means I need to read about seven habitat descriptions. My land has habitat for only four listed species. Of these, the Atlantic salmon, Tomah Mayfly, and the pigmy snaketail are all associated with water and if I’m careful about BMPs, I’ll not harm these critters. The fourth animal of concern is the bald eagle that might someday nest in a big pine. I’ll need to check those pines annually before harvesting. So it really will be quite easy for me to protect endangered and threatened wildlife in my woods operations.

Do you know which of these critters you might have in your woods? This book will tell you quickly and easily. Also it is interesting to read about such things as the northern bog lemming and the American pipit. I wonder if there are Canadian pipits?

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Out Roddie's Way: Lessons on Matters Pertaining to the Forest

Girvan Harrison
Published by Earthwood Editions
Gagetown , New Brunswick ; 300 pages

Book review by SWOAM member John Dudley

“Yiss, yiss, thet book by Girvan Harrison iss jest ass plain readin ass thet big red sign down ta the bottom of the North Mountain Road .” That is how Roddie McInnis would describe this book in which he is the central human character, and quite a character he is. Harrison discusses a broad variety of forest issues from acid rain to yellow bellied sapsuckers using the wood lots of Roddie and his friends as a setting in the mythical Nova Scotia community of Big Spoon Cove.

Take, for example, the section on ground hemlock. Harrison tells us where to expect ground hemlock to be growing, that it is a slow growing shrub, and that it is an important food for deer. Then he describes a potential commercial use for the shrub and prescribes the proper way to harvest it. Elsewhere in the book, we find that the poison Socrates used was not made from ground hemlock or from our native eastern hemlock.

Harrison starts each section with a quotation. These not only set the tone for what follows, but also make good mind fodder. For example, “You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself by walking alone in the forest.” While the author of this quote is unknown, he does include Henry David Thoreau, Robert Frost, Albert Einstein, and Robert Service among the authors of these snippets.

I must say that the book presents a lot of information that I did not know. The style of presentation is enjoyable. The book is well indexed, but the information is scattered about. It is not a text. The quality of the numerous illustrations is just adequate. The size of the book, 8 ½ by 5 ½, makes it just right for carrying while "walking alone in the forest."

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Woodsmen, Horses and Dynamite

C. Max Hilton, F. E.

Rough Pulpwood Operating in Northwestern Maine, 1935-1940

C. Max Hilton, F. E.
Copyright - 1942, Reprinted by University of Maine Press - 2004

Book review by John Dudley, SWOAM Member

A book like this presents a problem for me. How do I separate my interest in Maine history from my interest in my wood lot? Hilton’s book is limited in time and geographic area, but much of the material relates to my Downeast area up until about 1950.

The book is in four parts. The text and tables describe pulpwood operations on the ground in detail. Hilton describes cruising an area before the operation, and the setting up of the camps, yards, and roads. He tells of cutting (no chainsaws) and yarding with one or two horsepower. Moving the wood to the landing on a brook, river or lake was done by horses, Cletrac or Caterpillar tractors, or trucks. The trucks pulled loaded sleds! Finally he writes about driving the pulpwood down river to the Great Northern Mills. Every step of the operation also has its costs detailed.

Almost hidden in the middle of the book is the glossary. Pulpwood is described as wood ordinarily cut into four-foot lengths. The author doesn’t tell us that rough pulpwood still has its bark. That delineates it from peeled pulpwood that was used for paper making in earlier days. We learn that a basket rack is “a sled rack or body with high-staked sides on which pulpwood is piled lengthwise instead of crosswise as is common with other racks.” Hilton might describe me as a swamper, road monkey, or wood butcher, but never as a walker.

The best part is always saved to last. That is why apple pie follows the meal. Hilton has created sixty-three wonderful drawings of almost everything mentioned in the text. He starts with plans for camp buildings, including the hovel. He shows sets of horse harnesses for yarding and hauling, single horse or team. Cross-sections of old and new type of wooden dams for brooks or streams, and a diagram of a one-horse sprinkler are among the great images of the past. The quality and quantity of these drawings are worth more than the price of the book.

I bought this book at BookMarc’s in Bangor. Owner Marc Berlin is a SWOAM member and has his wood lot in Winterport.

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Anniversary of the 50th Maine Forest Fire Disaster: Recollections

by Austin Wilkins, Forest Commissioner 1958-1972

(SWOAM News is honored to bring its readers this eyewitness counting of a disaster that lingers in the minds of many, whether they lived rough those events or learned of them later. Austin Wilkins offers hitherto unpublished commentary, and analysis of the events of those difficult weeks.)

Introduction

On this 50th anniversary of the 1947 forest fire disaster, it is a privilege to be invited to share my recollections of what happened at a time I served with the Maine Forest Service.

Many stories have appeared in local and national magazines, newspapers and periodicals, the book Wildfire Loose: The Week that Maine Burned by Joyce Butler, a report in the Forest Commissioner's Biennial of 1947- 48. and the professional Journal of Forestry of August 1948, but no comprehensive study has been made. The following is a broad overview of critical elements of the fires. It describes what measures have been taken to ensure that we not be taken unaware again.

Tragic Losses

It was the worst disaster in the history of forest fire protection in Maine, resulting in heavy property losses and human privation.

The tragic results were: 215,000 acres of fields, pastures and forests burned, of which 180,000 acres were forested; the death of 16 people due to indirect causes brought about by the fires, but no loss of life in actual fire fighting; nine communities leveled or completely wiped out; 2,500 made homeless. Property losses were estimated at $30,000,000 of which $7,000,000 included millions of feet of mature timber, thousands of cords of cut and uncut pulpwood, and millions of board feet of sawed lumber stored in lumberyards. Suppression costs came to $300,000. It was heart-warming that many fire departments canceled fire bills for services and equipment to towns that were stricken by the fires.

Other property losses covered a wide scope. This includes the destruction of many fine homes and cottages and most all furnishings; sets of farm buildings, livestock and farm machinery; boys' and girls' summer camps; irreplaceable antiques; a famed cancer research laboratory (Jackson Labs in Bar Harbor); factories, stores and businesses; public buildings; telephone and power lines; and trucks, tractors and automobiles.

State-Town Forest Fire Cooperation

Under existing statutes, the Incorporated Towns were responsible for extinguishing their own forest fires with the State Forestry Department, more commonly known as the Maine Forest Service, acting as a cooperating agency only.

In 1928 the U.S. Forest Service advised the Forest Commissioner that the time had come to extend forest fire protection to the six million acres of small woodlands in the organized towns with available federal matching funds. [Note: The Maine Forest Service, for many years, had full authority to administer forest fire protection for the ten million acres of forest in the Unorganized Territory.]

Under the new plan of cooperation, the position of Supervisor of Forest Fire Protection in the Organized Towns was established and I was the first appointee. Since 1928 the plan of cooperation had called for the State to provide, at no cost to the towns, for services of trained fire wardens with sectional headquarters of office space and storage for trucks and fire fighting equipment.

Lookout towers were built to provide a network for forest fire detection. The State also paid one-half of forest fire costs up to one percent of a town's valuation. Throughout this period, the Maine Forest Service had no authority to take over a fire unless requested by the town selectmen.

Unusual Drought Conditions

The Maine Forest Service was fully aware of early warnings of a gradual build-up of dry conditions leading up to the outbreak of the big fires in October.

  • There was a period from mid-July to October of 108 days with no measurable rainfall.
  • The water level of lakes, streams and rivers was getting low.
  • Hardwood foliage was drying up and falling prematurely to the ground. When crushed in the hand, leaves pulverized.
    • There was little or no moisture in the soil.
    • Fire fighting crews found the soil spilling off shovels like loose sand.
  • Tractors building a fire break around farm houses and barns had to plow several furrows for a suitable barrier.
  • There is an old adage "You never miss the water until the well runs dry." Farmers hauling water for their livestock and home use was a warning that conditions were getting dry.
  • The Maine Forest Service maintained forest fire danger stations, weighing three times a day basswood sticks suspended on wire wickets twelve inches above the ground, which reflected the gradual dropping of moisture in the soil. Temperature and wind velocity readings were taken. On a scale of one to five it was possible to give a forecast of fire danger from very low, low, medium, high and extreme. With all these warnings and readings, the Maine Forest Service kept the news media informed of the growing danger.

Outbreak of Major Forest Fires

Although crews had been fighting small fires all during October, the class of forest fire danger was five (extreme) with unprecedented dry conditions in the days leading up to the outbreak of the four major fires the week of October 20. Any live burning ember could quickly ignite forest floor material, with little or no moisture in the soil. There was no Weather Bureau forecast of strong winds. Over 200 fires were under control, but firelines were smoldering.

With this background a description of the major four fires is presented as originally written in the Forest Commissioner's Biennial Report of 1947, with some editing for space.

York County Forest Fire - October 17

Thirteen towns with gross area burned of 131,000 acres of which 113,000 acres were forested: Shapleigh - Waterboro - Wells - Lyman - Wakefield, NH, Saco - Kennebunk - Hollis - Dayton - Alfred - Newfield - Limerick - Parsonsfield

The York County fire involved three separate fires. The Ossipee lookout reported a fire on Shapleigh Plains near Poverty Pond at 11:58 a.m., October 17. During the next few days, this fire reached 1,000 acres in size burning in scrub oak and pitch pine. Line patrols had been lessened but were continued. On October 21, the Ossipee lookout spotted a fire at 9:54 a.m. in Wakefield, NH, just over the Maine line. A third fire was reported by the Ossipee lookout at North Kennebunkport (now the town of Arundel) at 11:05 a.m., October l4. This was fought for several days and again picked up by the lookout on October 20. These fires were at widely separated points. On the day of the big wind of October 23 these three fires re whipped into a fury never experienced by local fire fighters. The Wakefield fire jumped across the state line into Maine and raced until it met the Shapleigh fire, a distance of 8 miles. In the meantime the Shapleigh fire was racing through towns southward and ending at a point 19 miles from its origin. The North Kennebunkport fire, fanned by the wind, carried a solid wall of fire clear to the Atlantic Ocean, wiping out valuable summer beach properties.

After the smoke had cleared away it was found that the Wakefield fire was blown to a junction with the Shapleigh fire near where the latter had started at Poverty Pond. It also traveled around the Shapleigh fire on the south and merged with it again in the spread toward the North Kennebunkport fire. These two joined fires did not catch up with the North Kennebunkport fire, being separated by the barrier of the new Maine Turnpike.

It was an awesome sight to see the solid walls of roaring fire sweeping over mountains and across level areas, consuming everything in their path. At times when the fires reached timbered growth the flames shot into the air to heights of 100 to 300 feet. For days the smoke hung so thick and heavy over the area that it was difficult to determine at times just how near or far away the fires were. The sun did not penetrate through the thick pall of smoke for over ten days. Men using trucks, cars, and bulldozers had to turn their headlights on in the daytime.

The state forest fire watchman on Ossipee lookout had to abandon his tower and together with a State Police radio technician ran down the trail to safety. Fortunately, the fire slowed down at night and just crept over the top of the mountain, causing negligible damage to the tower.

The burning of the settlement of Newfield was especially tragic. It is hardly conceivable that a settlement could be so completely consumed. In the Goose Rocks and Cape Porpoise district in Kennebunkport, over 200 dwelling places, most of them summer cottages, were destroyed. The State Forestry Department lost its storehouse at Alfred but practically all of the equipment was out on the fires. Insurance permitted rebuilding in the spring of 1948.

Fryeburg-Brownfield Forest Fire - Oxford County - October 21

Approximately 20,000 acres burned - including Hiram - Denmark - Cornish (York County)

The Fryeburg-Brownfield forest fire, in southern Oxford County, started at about 2:30 p.m., on October 21, and was quickly detected by the Pleasant Mountain lookout and at the Fryeburg Air Park. The big wind of October 23 caused this fire to break out of lines and to travel a distance of 13 miles. Five towns were involved and over 20,120 acres burned, of which 17,180 acres were forested. The behavior of this fire was similar to the York County fires, flame and smoke roaring madly over mountains and sweeping across valleys with unrelenting fury. Jump fires were carried great distances ahead of the main fire, making it difficult for fire fighters to make a determined stand. The technique of back firing was used to good advantage in some instances. Miles of back fires were started from wide bulldozed fire lines and old dirt roads. It is said that this was the battle of the bulldozers. This method of fire suppression unfortunately did not save the situation. The oncoming head fire was too unpredictable and much effort was wasted.

Conditions were very dry in this area with numerous cut-overs to feed the fire. The loss of the two communities of Brownfield and East Brownfield was indeed tragic. Roads were crowded with people, livestock, cars and teams, all fleeing before the fire. One could drive for miles and see where telephone poles were completely consumed, while in other places just the tops of poles and the crossarms were dangling in mid-air.

The dry stubble of cut hay fields burned like spring grass fires, often igniting house and barn foundation timbers. Pilots engaged to assist in the control work could see but little due to the dense rolling clouds of black smoke.

The watchman on nearby Pleasant Mountain lookout had to abandon it for two days because of the choking smoke and haze conditions. Typical "yellow days" hung over the area for nearly a week.

In a fire damage survey made by the U.S. Forest Service for southwestern Maine, approximately 110 million board feet of softwoods and 10 million board feet of hardwoods were recommended for salvage. By late spring of 1948 most of this fire damaged stumpage had been sold to sawmill operators.

Mt. Desert Island (Bar Harbor) Fire - Hancock County - October 17

Approximately 18,000 acres burned.

The forest fire which started on Mt. Desert Island on October 17 has been referred to frequently as "the Dunkerque of Bar Harbor." So far as can be determined, this fire started at a dump at the edge of a swamp or bog and burned over approximately 17,188 acres. Its location was only a few miles from Acadia National Park. Damage to this summer resort town was estimated at $10,000,000. This loss is even greater if one is to consider the aesthetic value which made Bar Harbor one of the scenic spots of the country. Many of the palatial homes and estates were quickly consumed by the fire. On October 21 the fire had entered Acadia National Park and by the 23rd, whipped by a strong wind, had burned over 8,750 acres inside the Park. Since federal land was affected, a form of martial law was in effect.

On October 17 this fire appeared to have been controlled through the efforts of the local fire department and Federal Park Service. However, it burned deep under the surface of the swamp. When the winds of October 21 and 23 came, it broke out of bounds and raced out of control. Because of the rugged terrain characteristic of Bar Harbor and Mt. Desert, the problem of fire fighting was different and difficult. The dense growth of spruce and other softwoods provided sufficient fuel for the fire to travel rapidly, crown heavily, and fan out into many fingers.

There were many dramatic scenes. At one time the main avenue of escape from the island was cut off. Fleeing residents were evacuated by Coast Guard patrol boats, the Navy, and small private crafts. Many were landed at Gouldsboro on the shore of Frenchman's Bay. Later, when the causeway road to the island was reopened, the exodus continued by motor vehicles. Over this same causeway poured men and equipment from all sections to help the local facilities combat the fire.

The "Dunkerque" scene was all the more dramatic when it is realized that the telephone exchange was evacuated and all power cut off. Previously the Mt. Desert government radio station had gone out of commission. Only a sudden shift in the wind saved the main business section of Bar Harbor from being destroyed.

By an act of Congress an appropriation was made available for Acadia National Park for fire suppression bills, clean-up, fire hazard reduction, repairs, and construction. A remarkable job was done in salvaging merchantable timber but more especially the removal and disposal of the slash and brush.

Centerville-Jonesboro Forest Fire - Washington County - October 21

Approximately 20,000 acres burned including Machias - Roque Bluffs, Whitneyville.

This fire started on October 21 and fanned by strong winds on that day and the 23rd burned over 19,970 acres, of which 17,410 were forested. Much of the area burned was on land owned by the St. Regis Paper Company and the Eastern Pulp Wood Company. A survey of the fire damage shows a net volume for salvage of 37,900 cords ofpulpwood and 6,900,000 board feet of sawlog material. Approximately 2,200 cords ofpulpwood cut and piled were burned by the fire.

The wind was so strong on the afternoon of October 23 that the fire traveled over six miles in less than an hour. Although no villages were burned several were seriously threatened. Lack of water necessitated long hauls by trucks and tractors and laying long lines of hose. Bulldozers opened up miles of fire lines through heavy forest growth. Winter set in on this fire before all the equipment had been picked up. Smoke was reported coming from burning logs, roots, and stumps late in December.

Study Team Recommendations

After welcome rain in November and some resemblance of order restored, I attended a high level conference of fire officials from the New England States, New York, at the headquarters of the U.S. Forest Service at Laconia, New Hampshire.

For nine days the study team focused on what happened, lessons learned, and concluded that the following were basic needs:

  1. Central Command to assist on large forest fires and especially on situations when fires crossed town lines.
  2. Master Fire Plan for each state and kept current.
  3. High level trained overhead supervisory teams to move in when requested or needed.
  4. Training in the various positions that make up a suppression organization-from small to large fires. [Note: The U.S. Forest Service had a policy worth repeating. "When you have not controlled the fire in 24 hours, you have lost the fire and need to plan for a duration fire that may last days or longer."]
  5. Special weather forecasting.
  6. Amend forest fire laws when necessary.
  7. Uniformity or agreement on services and equipment rates.
  8. Mandatory forest fire training of state and town wardens.

Emphasis was placed on these needs to prepare for a possible compact of assistance to a neighboring state. Other factors such as communications, chain- of-command, keeping records, coordination of agencies offering assistance, and relations with press were also reviewed.

Forest Fire Compact

Another step to prevent a Maine forest fire disaster from occurring again was the joint agreement of the New England Governors and the State Foresters for an interagency to assist a neighboring state.

The Council of State Governments drafted a proposed compact which included suggestions by a special study team of forest fire officials. In 1949 Congress authorized the Northeastern Forest Fire Compact, and the New England states including New York ratified it by legislative act.

Another development was the approval of the Congress permitting "joinder" action of the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick in 1969 and 1971 respectively, as Chairman of the Northeastern Forest Fire Commission and Maine Governor Kenneth Curtis, as Chairman of the New England Governor's Conference, participated in the official documentary signing ceremony at Quebec City and Fredericton.

This Compact was the most unique and significant in the history of forest fire protection ever enacted in the country. It is a first of a kind and has served as a model in other parts of the United States.

Twenty-five years ago (1972) then Maine U.S. Senator Edmund S. Muskie received unanimous consent of the Senate to have my story of the Maine 1947 fire disaster, a write-up of the Compact and joinder of the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick printed in the Congressional Record.

Some Interesting Highlights

  • There were seven yellow days when the sun never broke through the dense smoke haze of the fires.
  • Navy and commercial airplane pilots reported tail smoke from fires 30-40 miles out to sea.
  • Some fire fighters reported hearing sounds like rifle shots in the intense heat of the on-rushing flames. This is similar to fires occurring in western states.
  • There were witnesses of crown fires racing through dry and shriveled hardwood leaf foliage.
  • Army and Navy cargo planes flew 200,000 feet of linen fire hose to the Augusta Airport which was quickly taken to several areas where fires were burning or patrolled. When the hose was laid out along the fire lines it was discovered that there was a coupling hose thread difference of Iron Pipe vs. National Standard between the Army and Navy. An emergency SOS was sent to several foundries to rush adapters.
  • Eyewitness reported of seeing live embers blown by the strong wind onto the sides of old homes and barns and held there until the clapboards ignited.
  • Due to the dry conditions and lack of water, a number of fires were contained but tied up men and equipment for extended periods for patrol, preventing release for new fires.

Conclusion

Over the years since the devastation and human privation of the 1947 forest fire disaster there have been occasions of prolonged dry conditions and the danger of serious forest fires with the question asked, "Will It Happen Again?"

In presenting my recollections on a broad overview, I believe a repeat of 1947 is unlikely.

Many lessons were learned. Special study team recommendations, better knowledge of fire behavior, the transition from hand dug fire lines to mechanization using tractors, bulldozers, tank trucks, plows and water bombing, revision of forest fire laws to meet present conditions, new techniques in weather forecasting, training in special overhead supervisory teams for takeover all led to vastly improved capabilities for quick response.

The greatest contribution was the Act of Congress in 1949 authorizing the Northeastern Forest Fire compact which was ratified by the New England States and New York, and joinder action by the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick.

The Compact the first of a kind in the country which provided for an interagency to assist a neighboring state.

Those of us involved in the 1947 forest fire disaster will never forget the fortitude and cooperation of Maine people in a period of personal suffering and economic losses.

We remember the heroic effort of thousands of fire fighters who, with available facilities were able in a large measure to bring under control most of the fires before the rains came, and we recall and praise the efforts of those who served in rescue work and the agencies who contributed time and service.

The destroyed towns and crossroad neighborhoods have been rebuilt and are back in business, and nature has once again restored the burned areas with new green forests.

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