Firemen had been fighting the forest fire for nearly three weeks before they
could get it under control. A short time before, great trees had covered the
countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground
over the desolate hills. Winter was coming on and the hills threatened the
surrounding villages with destruction, for heavy rain would not only wash away
the soil but would cause serious floods as well. When the fire had at last
been put out, the forest authorities ordered several tons of a special type of
grass-seed which would grow quickly. The seed was sprayed over the ground in
huge quantities by aeroplanes. The planes had been planting seed for nearly a
month when it began to rain. By then, however, in many places the grass had
already taken root. In place of the great trees which had been growing there
for centuries, patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil.&