Forest Protection Branch is divided into three sections with 

 duties and responsibilities as follows. 



FOREST PROTECTION 



Forest Fire Control. Administration of The Forest Fires Pre- 

 vention Act; organization of fire districts and the fire warden 

 system; supervision of fire control planning and prepared- 

 ness; fire prevention programs including a system of travel, 

 fire and work permits; co-operative fire prevention and con- 

 trol agreements with municipalities, railways, forest indus- 

 tries and other agencies; detection of forest fires, and fire 

 danger warnings; training of staff and co-operators in fire 

 control techniques; prescribed burning; co-ordination of 

 fire suppression; and movement of resources and emergency 

 arrangements. 



Forest Pest Control. Prevention and control of damage by 

 insects, diseases and other pests affecting forests under 

 Department management; and advisory services. 



Communications. Planning, installation and operation of 

 radio, telephone and teletype services for fire control and 

 other Department requirements; and construction of spe- 

 cialized communication equipment. 



AIR SERVICE 



Operation of a fleet of aircraft to meet flying requirements 

 of the Department and special needs of other Government 

 Departments; selection and training of pilots and air en- 

 gineers; deployment of aircraft and crews; establishment of 

 airbases, fuel distribution and caches; selection of aircraft 

 equipment and development of special equipment; leasing 

 and disposition of helicopters and other aircraft; checking 

 pilot proficiency; and maintenance of aircraft. 



ENGINEERING SERVICES 



Planning mechanical equipment programs, budgetting for 

 new and replacement equipment, standards for operation 

 and maintenance of mechanical equipment, and vehicle 

 fleet management; design, construction and maintenance 

 of dams, docks, and other hydraulic structures, channel im- 

 provement, and dredging; co-ordination and planning of 

 capital work program and maintenance of facilities; and 

 sign program. 



Fire across the lake. Staff photo. 



FOREST FIRE CONTROL 



For the decade 1961-70, forest fire occurrence averaged 

 1,450 per year while the average, annual acreage burned was 

 145,233. For the year 1970, 1,239 fires burned 56,160 acres 

 of forest land. In terms of severity, i.e., burning conditions, 

 1970 was a moderate year. 



The main fire activity came with high to extreme danger 

 periods in June and August when 310 and 469 fires, respec- 

 tively, accounted for approximately 98 per cent of the acre- 

 age burned. The majority of this acreage can be attributed 

 to a series of lightning-caused fires in Sioux Lookout, 

 Thunder Bay and Ceraldton districts during June. 



Thirty-three per cent of the 1970 fires originated from 

 lightning. This is the highest percentage for this cause since 

 1961. Of the total acreage burned, 90 per cent resulted from 

 lightning fires, a figure somewhat higher than normal. The 

 statistics on man-caused fires are correspondingly lower 

 than average, i.e., 836 fires or 67 per cent as compared to 

 the norm of 80 per cent. 



FOREST FIRE CONTROL OPERATIONS 



Detection. The aerial detection systems in Kenora, Fort 

 Frances, Ceraldton, White River, North Bay, Parry Sound 

 and Lindsay districts operated with good result. 



Aerial systems employ aircraft as the basic means of de- 

 tecting fires, and towers for providing supplemental cover- 

 age in high-risk, high-value areas. Systems of this type offer 

 considerable flexibility in that coverage can be more effec- 

 tively programmed in accordance with fire danger and risk 

 over a broad area. Over the next one to three years, it is 

 anticipated that further districts will begin to phase out their 

 fixed-point tower systems and adopt aircraft as the primary 

 detection platform. 



Renewed emphasis is being placed on the public role in 

 detecting and reporting forest fires. Over the years, the 

 public sector has consistently given the initial report on 50 

 to 60 per cent of all fires. Planned effort in this area will 

 bring further improvement to the over-all detection 

 program. 



Suppression. The basic suppression force was 138 five-man- 

 unit crews specially trained for fire control work. The crews 

 were supported by 38 fire-bombing aircraft. This force took 

 initial action on 913 fires. 



Municipal groups, organized under the fire warden sys- 

 tem, handled 134 fires. The general public provided the 

 initial attack on 161 fires. Timber licensees took action on 

 21 fires. 



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