One Match Can Do It!, “Santa Monica Mountains Fire Prevention Association”, “Photographed by Chester N. Hess & Guy D. Haselton”, 1940

“A camper’s match starts last year’s dead leaves burning. The leaves ignite the brush. The trees burst into flame. The fire may be beaten out in a week. But it will take a decade to get a new forest going Before the new growth gets under way, spring thaw brings the muddy river that ran along the forest’s edge to flood height. Held by no tree or grass roots, the soil is torn away by the rushing water. And the river leaps the bank and covers the valley Because of a match, a town is flooded”