can be but one result. Eucalyptus trees surrounded by dead branches must soon become a torch scattering infinitesimal sparks in all directions, if a tiny match or ember happens to fall in the dry grass or leaves at its base.

There is only one safeguard for these groves-removal of every contributing factor to the spread of fire. Underbrush that makes a funeral pyre for trees must not be tolerated. Hundreds of acres of valuable eucalyptus groves, set out to conserve the rain water in the hills, will be burned over this summer just as sure as campers are careless and a spark or two falls into dead brush at the base of these trees-unless remedial action is taken, and at once.

Will Oakland and Berkeley permit a repetition of the Tunnel road fire of last summer on a larger and grander scale on the high reaches of the ridge at our back doors?

Every tourist who is driven over the Skyline boulevard and who passes along the Tunnel road can not help but view the charred skeletons of what once were eucalyptus and pines dotting the hillsides of Claremont canyon. Many acres of blackened pines, complete except for their needles, remain on the sides of the main divide at the head of the canyon, but none of these fire-blasted trees will ever again be green.

They stand as mute protests against utter failure of the Eastbay cities to cope with brush fires last summer.

WILL HISTORY REPEAT?

The fire last summer that caused the great destruction of trees in Claremont canyon could have been pinched out before it ever reached the tree-covered portions of the hillsides. But our city governments have no adequate means of coping with hillside fires.

The sense of co-operation among citizens has not reached the degree which recognizes that destruction of our hill coverings by fire means that undoing of years of effort to reforestate the hills, to say nothing of the esthetic considerations involved by preservation of eucalyptus and pines in order to keep our hills attractive to our citizens and to our visitors.

This is the situation in our hills at the end of June, 1922. The solution of the difficulty rests with the two cities of Oakland and Berkeley, aided by various civic organizations and possibly individuals. Conceivably my duty as a hiker and inveterate lover of the hills has been done in drawing attention of the entire Eastbay country to the situation along the main ridge of hills at our back door.

In order to silence those who would be inclined to scoff at one who merely points out conditions without offering remedies, I will close with the suggestion that the cities of Oakland and Berkeley employ a small group of workers for a few days cleaning out the eucalyptus groves along the main divide; that fire-building be absolutely prohibited in these hills constituting the main ridge, and the imposition of a heavy fine and imprisonment for those found guilty of building fires in such a zone.

Finally, I would suggest the setting apart of a Sunday early in July in which every able-bodied man and boy in the Eastbay region should be invited to climb the main ridge and remove all broken eucalyptus and pine limbs to piles from which the debris could later be trucked out of the hills or burned in open spaces under supervision of firemen or others qualified in such work.

ANCIENT HUMOR

In the preface to one of the volumes of his "Memoirs of the Poet Moore," Lord John Russell has this to say about wit as it has been developed by society: "There are," he wrote, "two kinds of colloquial wit, which equally contribute to fame, though not equally to agreeable conversation. The one is like a rocket in a dark air, which shoots at once into the sky, and is the more surprising from the previous silence and gloom. The other is like that kind of firework which blazes and bursts out in every direction, exploding at one moment and shining brilliantly at another, eccentric in its course, and changing its form and color to many forms and many hues."

Sydney Smith, the great English clergyman and wit, was a notable example of the second class. Lady Holland in her memoirs tells us of one joyous conversation of Sydney Smith's which proves his method of humorous amplification in his table talk.

"Some one mentioned that a young Scotchman, who had been lately in the neighborhood, was about to marry an Irish widow, double his age, and of considerable dimensions.

"Going to marry her!' Smith exclaimed, bursting out laughing. 'Going to marry her! Impossible! You mean a part of her. I could not marry her all myself. It would be a case, not of bigamy, but trigamy. The neighborhood or the magistrates should interfere. There is enough of her to furnish wives for a whole parish. One man marry her! It is monstrous. You might people a colony with her, or give an assembly with her, or, perhaps, take a morning's walk around her, always provided there were frequent resting places, and you were in rude health. I once was rash enough to try walking around her before breakfast, but got only halfway and gave it up exhausted. Or you might read the riot act and disperse her. In short, you might do anything with her but marry her.'

"Oh, Mr. Sydney,' said a young lady, recovering from the general laugh, 'Did you make up all that yourself?'

"'Yes, Lucy! Sydney Smith said, throwing himself back in his chair and shaking with laughter. 'All myself, child; all my own thunder! Do you think when I am about to make a joke I send for my neighbors C. and G., or consult the clerk and church wardens upon it! But let us go into the garden.''

"And, all laughing till we cried," Lady Holland ends: "We sallied forth into the garden."

Of Lady Holland the poet Campbell wrote:

"She is a formidable woman. She is cleverer, by several degrees, than Bonaparte."

Rogers told a characteristic story of her manner, we are informed by Everet A. Duyckinck.

"When Lady Holland wanted to get rid of a fop she used to say: 'I beg your pardon, but I wish you would sit a little further off. There is something on your handkerchief which I don't quite like.""

Mr. TRUDEAU. That fire burned 625 homes, razed 72 blocks, and did $10 million worth of damage, and that has gone up at least tenfold if not more in the years since.

In fact, only the heroic efforts of firemen and students stopped the flames at the north end of the University of California campus. Furthermore, the report of the State forester said that if the wind had kept blowing, there would have been 100,000 people homeless.

Those are the facts of 1923. These are the facts of 1973. In 1972, the worst cold weather on record in the bay area dropped temperatures as low as 14° in some areas. That freeze lasted for 9 days and left a brown forest of 2 million or more eucalyptus trees on those hills.

These same weather conditions preceded the great fire of 1923. And we hope this is where the parallel will end.

Admittedly conditions are not totally parallel. For one thing, we have better firefighting equipment now and more sophisticated methods of handling such fires. For another, the citizens of the East Bay area are not ignoring the warnings. We have learned from the great fire of 1923 as well as from another fire in 1970 in these same hills which destroyed 39 homes with a loss of $3.5 million.

But matched against this are these negative factors. First, there are many, many thousands more eucalyptus trees today in the OaklandBerkeley hills than existed in 1923 and consequently many more thousands of pounds of ground fuel, which poses the greatest fire threat. Second, the cold weather and snow of 1922-23 did not kill many trees, though it brought many broken limbs and debris.

Third, the eucalyptus trees are 50 years older than they were in 1923 and thus taller and fuller, providing more debris and danger. And fourth, today there are many, many more homes in the OaklandBerkeley hills than existed in 1923.

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Consequently our fire experts-and they include all of the fire chiefs in the area-tell us that we face a more imminent fire threat today than at any time in bay area history. They also estimate that were a fire to occur in the hills this year, the holocaust would destroy thousands of homes and it is possible that hundreds of persons could perish. Damage from such a fire could cost anywhere from $150 to $200 million.

The 9-day freeze last December was a calamity which could cost anywhere from $25 to $32 million overall to correct. This includes removal of the dead trees and ground fuel, fire suppression and prevention, but not reforestation or the recreation of the natural environment which would correct the ecological error which has occurred in the hills.

Efforts by local citizens and public agencies have not been minimal. To date the public agencies alone have allocated or spent an estimated $3.5 million. Thousands of volunteers have worked to reduce the ground fuels.

And thousands of man hours have been devoted to preventive efforts and plans in the event of a disaster.

Alerted by Harold Biswell, noted University of California professor of forestry, the East Bay Regional Park District took the leadership in calling a meeting of all concerned agencies on February 2, 1973. That meeting brought an overflow crowd into the small regional park board room, anxious to know the scope of the problem and how it could be solved. Under the chairmanship of EBRPD director Fred Blumberg, the meeting brought out many facts and was followed by an inspection of a part of the so-called "tree disaster" area.

A subsequent meeting at the Park District headquarters led by Gary Tate, Resource Management Associate, led to the formation of an Inter-Agency Advisory Committee, with William Hildebrand, Alameda County Fire Marshal, elected chairman.

The inter-agency committee, representative of some 35 jurisdictions has joined together in a cooperative effort of great magnitude, and represents an exemplary effort on the part of the local public agencies. Citizens of the Montclair area of Oakland have banded together under Mr. and Mrs. Dan Gibson, serving as chairman and vice chairman of the Citizens' Fire Hazard Committee.

[The complete statements of Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Ver Lee follow:]

STATEMENT OF RICHARD C. TRUDEAU, GENERAL MANAGER, EAST BAY REGION AL PARK DISTRICT, OAKLAND, CALIF.

Mr. Chairman, we are here to help you determine whether history will be permitted to repeat itself! As writer and philosopher George Santayana said so well, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Today in 1973-there exists an ominous parallel with conditions existing in 1922-23, which preceded the "Great Hill Fire of 1923." That fire burned 625 homes and 225 other buildings, razed 72 blocks and idid $10 million damage within a few hours. In fact, only the heroic efforts of firemen and student volunteers stopped the advancing flames at the north end of the University of California campus and near Shattuck and University Avenues in the Berkeley business district. Furthermore, the report of the State Forester said that if the wind had kept blowing, the holocaust would have moved across the Eastbay coastal plain and there would have been 100,000 people homeless rather than 3,000. That fire could have been prevented, if warnings of the fire danger had not been ignored. The facts of the "Great Fire of 1923" are well documented both by official records and by newspaper accounts.

These are the facts of 1973. In December, 1972-just six months ago-the worst cold weather on record in the Bay Area dropped temperatures as low as 14 degrees in some areas. That freeze lasted for nine days and left a ghostly brown forest of 2 million or more eucalpytus trees in the hills. These same weather conditions preceded "The Great Fire of 1923." We hope that this is where the parallel will end.

Admittedly conditions are not totally parallel. For one thing, we have better fire fighting equipment now and more sophisticated methods of handling such fires. For another, the citizens of the Eastbay area are not ignoring the warnings. We have learned from the "Great Fire of 1923" as well as from another fire in 1970 in these same hills which destroyed 39 homes with a loss of $3.5 million. But matched against this are these negative factors. One, there are many, many thousands more eucalyptus trees today in the Oakland-Berkeley hills than existed in 1923 and consequenty many more thousands of pounds of ground fuel, which poses the greatest fire threat. Second, the cold weather and snow of 1922-23 did not kill many trees, though it brought many broken limbs and debris. Third, the eucalyptus trees are 50 years older than they were in 1923 and thus taller and fuller, providing more debris and danger. And fourth, today there are many, many more homes in the Oakland-Berkeley hills than existed in 1923. Consequently, our fire experts tell us that we face a more imminent fire threat today than at any time in Bay Area history. They also estimate that were a fire to occur in the hills this year, the holocaust would destroy thousands of homes and that it is possible that hundreds of persons could perish. Damage from such a fire could cost anywhere from $150 to $200 million.

The nine day freeze last December was a calamity which could cost anywhere from $25 to $32 million overall to correct. This includes removal of the dead trees and ground fuel, fire suppression and prevention, but not reforestation or the recreation of the natural environment which would correct the ecological error which has occurred in the hills.

EUCALYPTUS FROM AUSTRALIA

"There were no (eucalyptus) trees on that coast when I went there in 1849," wrote pioneer-clergyman Bishop William Taylor in 1895. "I sent the seed from Australia to my wife in California in 1863. Her seed sowing made such a marvelous growth that a horticultural neighbor of ours wrote me to send him a pound of seed." Others joined in, with imports of seeds of various of the 100 species, but mostly the "E. globulus" or "blue gum" variety.

However, much of the present eucalyptus problem can be laid at the door of Frank Colton Havens, a millionaire real estate promoter, who imported eucalyptus seeds from Australia as part of a "grand plan" to find an inexpensive source of lumber for use as furniture, railroad ties, etc. And between 1910 and 1913 he oversaw the planting of millions of trees. It wasn't too long before he realized his error. No "blue gum" eucalyptus under two and one half feet in diameter could be made into timber, and larger trees required special handling. And the California eucalyptus grow somewhat differently than they do in Australia and therefore provide a less commercially desirable wood.

Today our eucalyptus trees are valued only as ornamental and are useful largely as wind-breaks and for shade purposes.

PROBABILITY OF FIRE

Fire prevention experts have long been cognizant of the potential fire hazard which exists in the Oakland-Berkeley hills. With the nine day freeze of December. 1972, and its calamitous results, many experts consider the fire hazard today to have been increased by fifty to seventy-five percent. Contributing factors include the following:

1. The San Francisco Bay Area annually experiences hot, dry summer weather in spurts of 3-5 days. Temperatures have reached 92 degrees (1966) in June: 95 degrees (1970) in July; 89 degrees (1968) in August: 96 degrees (1971) in September: and 87 degrees (1966) in October. The humidity is often very low on these hot days.

2. Summer weather also brings occasional strong winds, particularly in Sentember when the fuels are driest. As an example, in 1965 a strong northeast wind blew all day and all night at 65 miles per hour and gusted up to 90 miles per hour

on the peaks of hills in the area. There are an estimated 10-15 days each year when the fire danger becomes extremely acute. The winds are strong and come from the north or northeast, the temperatures are high, and the humidity is low during this 10-15 day period. During the 1970 fire, the wind velocity was low-only 15 miles per hour at the time the fire started and dropping to 4 miles per hour two hours later. However, the fire chiefs in the area wonder what will happen if weather conditions conspire against us. They are praying for a foggy summer and autumn.

3. Eucalyptus burns easily. The natural volatility of the oil within eucalyptus enhances its tendency to burn. Eucalyptus wood also dries out very fast when exposed to the air, adding to its hazard as fire fuel. The dry leaves, bark, and limbs on the ground-the ground fuel-is very volatile and burn with great intensity. Measurements by experts show as much as 100,000 pounds per acre of the ground fuel. The danger of firebrands from the eucalyptus is also very great. The dead eucalyptus trunks shed their bark in long strips, which remain attached to the trees and frequently reach the ground in 20 to 30 foot lengths. And both dead limbs and leaves remain on the trees, defying every effort to blow them off. Thus the possibility of a ground fire transmitted to any dry-leafed tree top becomes increasingly probable. In Australia, for example, firebrands have been known to set fire 11 miles ahead of the main fire front under windy conditions.

4. Much of the area is inaccessible to available fire-fighting equipment. Because much of the 2,500-3,000 acres involved are either parklands or watershed lands, they are heavily forested and offer difficult terrain for fire fighting equipment or are inaccessible because of the slopes and terrain. Many of the streets in the Oakland-Berkeley hills, particularly the Montclair area of Oakland, are very narrow and winding, thus making it difficult to get fire fighting equipment into the area. Furthermore, many of such streets dead end. The problem of fire fighting becomes doubly difficult if one considers the likelihood that such streets will also be jammed with residents seeking to get away from the fire peril.

5. Many of the homes in the Oakland-Berkeley hills have cedar shake roofs, considered the most flammable type of roof. The houses are closely compacted and once large fires become ignited, the houses become the principal fuels which carry the wildfires.

6. The Regional Parks in the hills are heavily used during the summer months. Of an estimated 7 million user days per year in all of the Regional Parks, an educated guess might be that as many as 2-3 million would use the four Regional Parks in this general area during the June-October period. This, of course, increases the chances of a fire starting.

Obviously then the threat of an impending fire brings terror to the minds and hearts of residents of the area. To make matters a bit worse, there still exists a shortage of water in the area to help put any fire out which did develop.

The impending threat of a fire of major proportions is real. And, in fact, there has already been a 24 hour fire alert for the volunteer firemen of the East Bay Regional Park District. What is more, a fire which destroyed an archery clubhouse in Anthony Chabot Regional Park (considered out of the most critical area) that could have spread rapidly among about 1,000 acres of freeze-killed eucalyptus trees had there been a favorable wind. Arson is suspected responsible for this fire.

And the fire chiefs of the area are worried of the imminent fire danger which an arsonist in the Oakland-Berkeley hills could make a reality. There have been many arson fires in the Eastbay in recent years.

LOCAL EFFORTS OUTSTANDING

Efforts by local citizens and public agencies have not been minimal. To date the public agencies alone have allocated or spent an estimated $3.5 million. Thousands of volunteers have worked to reduce the ground fuels. And thousands of man hours have been devoted to preventive efforts and plans in the event of a disaster.

Alerted by Harold Biswell, noted University of California professor of forestry, the East Bay Regional Park District took the leadership in calling a meeting of all concerned agencies on February 2, 1973. That meeting brought an overflow crowd into the small Regional Park Board room, anxious to know the scope of the problem and how it could be solved. Under the chairmanship of EBRPD Director Fred Blumberg, the meeting brought out many facts and was followed