CAMEOS OF EMPIRE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19845, 20 May 1927, Page 2

CAMEOS OF EMPIRE

THE FIRE PATROL SPOTTING FOREST OUTBREAKS FROM THE AIR A thin wreath of smoke creeps up from under the green foliage. It becomes thicker and soon little gusts of flame appear. Dead twigs and dry grasses speed its journey. It reaches the root of an ancient pine, seizes on the bark, and climbs rapidly upward towards the branches.

A forest lire has started. The valley is remote from civilisation. In the heart of the Canadian Rockies few men are found, only occasional 1 rappers and prospectors pass through the timber-clad valleys, but a careless spark from an old camp fire had settled in the moss, and smouldered unseen long after the man had passed onward, seeking new fields. '• Soon the whole valley will be enveloped in flames and millions of dollars worth of valuable timber lost to the Dominion, whose only great wealth is in her yet untouched forest lands and undeveloped mines. No human aid is near to curtail tho further spread of the blaze, at least, so it seems, for the rangers’ lonely cabin is many, many miles distant.

Far up in the air a small black dot sails northward and the distant roar of mighty engines can be heard. Suddenly it alters its course and swot-ps down into the valley. For a few minutes it seems to hover above the flames and rest on the great pall of smoke, then with effortless ease it climbs again to the heavens and vanishes to the south.

At High River aerodrome, the ma- ’ chine lands. Either a number of men i and equipment are loaded on the 'plane j or the machine returns to the scene of ; the conflagration alone and, if possible, finds a landing-place. The pilot, with i special fire-fighting apparatus, is often : enabled to control and extinguish the blaze alone without having to return! to the station. The machines belong to the Royal I Canadian Air Force, and many are of I the type used by the Royal Air Force) during the Great War, some of them i having been part of the grant of war ’planes made to Canada by Great Britain at the close of the war. Since then they have been used largely by the Canadian Fcrce, which, although still in its infancy, has a w'onderful record for sucesssful fire-patrol work. The'j precious forests of the east and west are daily patrolled by these machines, clear-eyed pilots straining their eyes to catch the little streaks of smoke which spell destruction. The work, especially in the Rockies, is exceedingly dangerous. Engine trouble means a forced landing, with often no place to land. According to a pilot who had much experience in this kind of work the only thing to do is to stick the wdng of the ’plane into the mountainside and trust to the grace of God to escape with a broken nose or some other small injury. He explained the alternative to this was being skewered on a burnt stump, or some i other equally pleasurable death inci-! dent to hitting Mother Earth while I descending rapidly. But the work goes on unceasingly. , During the summer months foot and horse rangers cannot cope with the many fires which break out in remote districts for no apparent reason. The aeroplane can cover in a few hours a district which would take a ranger many days to explore. It can report the fires rapidly by wireless, or if the blaze is a small one and landing facilities ready of access, satisfactorily deal with the matter without outside help. The cost is not much more, and the value of the timber saved amply credits the expenditure.