FOREST FIRE PREVENTION

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 19, 1 August 1949, Page 4

FOREST FIRE PREVENTION

Sir, —I have not seen the value stated of the pine forests of New : Zealand, but it would be at least £SO million. To misquote Mr Churqi4-/;% ; ill, never before has so much value ben at the mercy of so little Value (one wax match or one lighted cigarette butt) with such puny efforts available to stop the total destruction of the forests in a drought year with high gales. Just a few hmn- " dred men with sacks and a few water carts which have to be filled miles way. Millions of money is to be spent on pulp and timber* mills,- railways , and the building of a big town at Murupara all. on the assumption: the timber will be there when want- . ed. Perhaps with luck it will be. I have a plan to save 95 per cent of the trees. Every day millions of gallons of water go down the Rangitaiki River past Murupara while about five miles away at 1200 ft. above the river are the plains where most of the trees are growing. Witff modern pumping machinery if should be a simple matter to pump water from the Rangitaiki river up to huge concrete tanks on the plains and six winter months of the yecfif to do it in. If pumps cannot be 'got . to pump water 1200 ft, do it with relays of pumps. From the -tanks on the plains 4ft concrete, pipes full of water all the time could circle every block of pines and even crisscross them. On a fire alarm being given, high powered fire engines (or even specially fitted aircraft) speed to scene of the fire and plug in to the concrete water pipes and pump a barrage of water on to the oncoming fire. Should the fire still sweep over them asbestos coverings for the engines and suits for the men. would allow them to stand their ground and tackle the fire in the rear. If the fire still went on it must give up when it meets a simi- : lar defence a block further back who would have everything well soaked with water by the time the fire got to it. Except perhaps for the fire engines this scheme would not cost New Zealand one pound of overseas funds. Divert the cement now going into the Waikato river also the manpower and evejn if it JB cost a million pounds it would be.4J cheap and be there for future gem. erations of trees (and men). It will -not hurt the New Zealand towns-women to wait another year or two for their electric stoves, etc. ’ but it is going to hit New Zealand hard if her pine forests go up in smoke.

If the concrete pipes could-not all be filled by gravitation from the plains put more tanks up on top of Rainbow Mountain and if this was still not enough put high pres- - sure air pumps on to force the water to the scene of the fire. Again misquoting Mr Churchill. ' f Give the men the tools and they will complete the job of preserving ~- the forest. Don’t any longer risk men’s lives and the trees fighting a possible £SO million bonfire-with sacks. Yours etc., W.C.A. Murupara.,-