FIRE CONTROL TRAINING 



Fire Suppression Course I, a four-week course of 

 instruction for personnel designated to man the supervisory 

 positions in the fire crew system (initial attack fire boss or 

 sector boss), has been the foundation of our training 

 program. Since 1962, 563 personnel have successfully 

 completed these courses, which are conducted at the 

 regional level three times a year. The curriculum is 

 constantly being updated, and candidates learn of the latest 

 fire control methods and their application in forest fire 

 suppression. 



Fire control managers at the senior levels (Chief Forest 

 Rangers, Forest Protection Supervisors, etc.) receive 

 training at Fire Suppression Course II. Including the 23 

 graduates in 1971, some 70 personnel have received 

 instruction since the course inception in 1970. 



In 1971 , three slide-tape presentations were prepared" for 

 basic fireman training, and two more are planned for 

 production in 1972. The object is fire fighting procedural 

 uniformity across the Province to enhance the utilization of 

 any fire attack crew anywhere in Ontario. 



FIRE PREVENTION 



A program of varying intensity is carried on at all levels of 

 the organization. Division programs are basically person-to- 

 person oriented, concentrating on children at the primary 

 school level. 



Television and radio stations throughout Ontario assist 

 in broadcasting the forest fire danger forecast and forest 

 fire situation, report on a regular basis during the fire 

 season. Co-operative programs have been developed with 

 the Provinces of Quebec and Manitoba. 



DEVELOPMENT WORK 



Grumman CS2F Tracker. The Department acquired a 

 surplus mihtary aircraft, the Grumman CS2F Tracker, and 

 converted it to a fire bombing configuration. The aircraft 

 was test-flown, and drop pattern studies were initiated. 

 Preliminary trials indicate that the aircraft exhibits all of 

 the desirable characteristics of a good fire bomber. The 

 Tracker was built by DeHavilland Aircraft under Ucence 

 from Grumman Aircraft Corporation. It was in military 

 service on the aircraft carrier, Bonaventure. It is a 

 twin-engine aircraft capable of carrying 800 gallons of 

 retardant at a speed of 200 m.p.h. 



Infra-Red Scanner. The airborne infra-red fire mapper 

 was exposed to operational tesfing during the 1971 fire 

 season. Results indicated further exposure in 1972 should 

 bring the system to a point where useful information on 

 going fires can be provided to the fire boss or Chief Forest 

 Ranger. The fire-mapper can give accurate maps of 

 smoke-obscured fires. The possibiUty of night-time mapping 

 is to be explored. 



PhiTran Automatic Weather Station. The remote 

 radio-controlled weather station obtained in 1970 was 

 placed in operational service in Sioux Lookout District 

 during 1971. This instrument can provide needed fire 

 weather data for locations not served by other means. 

 Experience indicates this type of a system can be 

 beneficially applied in our operations. 



Equipment Evaluation. Forest fire suppression equip- 

 ment which might have application in Ontario is evaluated 

 by the Forest Fire Equipment Evaluation Program. During 

 1971, tests were conducted on several types of fire hose 

 and various pieces of camping gear. 



Prescribed Burning. Prescribed burning is an approved 

 forest management technique in Ontario. This tool is 



available to the forest manager to regenerate forest sites, 

 prepare areas for planting, remove hazardous fuel 

 conditions, or improve wildlife habitat. Each burn is 

 co-ordinated with the agencies responsible for air quality 

 and public safety. A total of 1 ,900 acres were treated under 

 this program in 1971 . 



Fire Danger Measurement. The Canadian Fire Weather 

 Index is the fire danger measurement system used in 

 Ontario. Further development of the use of this relatively 

 new system was carried out. Studies relating fire behaviour 

 to the various index values, and in the use of a 

 computerized index forecasting system, were carried out. 



General. Nozzle crew competitions were held in the 

 Northeastern and Southern Regions in 1971. The purpose 

 of these competitions is to maintain a high degree of 

 proficiency in preparedness and fire line construction and 

 to encourage team spirit among the fire fighters of the 

 Department. The regional winners were: 



Northeastern Region - Swastika District 



Southern Region - Lindsay District 



FOREST PEST CONTROL 



In 1971, the spruce budworm was again the dominant 

 insect and disease problem. Infestations of this insect were 

 prevalent in three general locations - west of the lakehead, 

 the north-central and north-eastern area, and the 

 south-eastern area. 



In northwestern Ontario, the infestations south of 

 Northern Light Lake persisted on a small scale. The new 

 infestation along the International Border in Quetico Park 

 was confirmed in 1971 as covering some 130,000 acres. 

 Strategic portions of this area were sprayed in an effort to 

 prevent the infestation from spreading. 



In north-central and north-eastern Ontario, the bud- 

 worm infestations expanded in 1971 and were more or less 

 continuous from Lake Superior to the Quebec border, 

 covering a total of about 13,400 square miles. 



The area affected by the budworm in southeastern 

 Ontario increased sharply in 1971 to slightly over 7,000 

 square miles from 2,500 in 1970. 



In total, the gross area affected by the spruce budworm 

 was approximately 20,600 square miles or 13.2 miUion 

 acres. In assessing the significance of this infestation, it is 

 important to reahze that, over much of this area, balsam 

 and white spruce are not vital commercial components of 

 the forest during this rotation. 



The Jack-pine budworm population continued to decline 

 in Pembroke District, and started to decline in the Lake 

 Nipissing-French River area. However, the southern 

 portion of the infestation north of Parry Sound remained 

 very active and spread eastward into Brown Township. In 

 northwestern Ontario, where populations of the budworm 

 collapsed in 1969, there was some indication of renewed 

 activity south-east of Dryden in jack-pine stands along the 

 Sioux Lookout-Kenora District border. 



The principal area of forest tent caterpillar activity was 

 the infestation extending west and north of Fort Frances. It 

 continued to expand in 1971. A new area of infestation 

 appeared at Pipestone Lake on the Fort Frances-Kenora 

 District boundary. 



The European pine sawfly did not extend the range of 

 its occurrence during the year, but it did become more 

 noticeable in most areas. The main body of its range in 

 southern Ontario is south of a line roughly from Midland to 

 Kingston. The insect also occurs on Manitoulin Island and 

 on ornamental plantings in Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay and 

 Ottawa. 



10 



