Southern Ontario Forest Fire Hazard Study. An investiga- 

 tion of the changes in the forest fire hazard, in the portion 

 of the province south of the provincial fire district, was 

 undertaken. The result was a report and a documented set 

 of slides on the potential fire hazard in the southern part of 

 Ontario. 



Canadian Fire Weather Index. A new index to measure fire 

 danger has been de\eloped by the federal Department of 

 Fisheries and Forestry. Ontario took part in the field evalua- 

 tion of this new system by calculating and recording the fire 

 weather stations throughout the pro\ince for the 1969 fire 

 season. Reaction to the new system was favorable, although 

 fire occurrence during the summer was light and no real 

 opportunity to evaluate fire behavior under the new index 

 values existed. 



PRESCRIBED BURNING 



Consistent with the expanding prescribed burning program 

 in the province over the past few years, seven districts car- 

 ried out prescribed burns this year. A total of 5,933 acres 

 were burned by prescribed fires for silvicultural treatment 

 and slash hazard reduction. 



GENERAL 



Nozzle crew competitions were held on a regional basis for 

 the first time this year. The purpose of the competitions is 

 to maintain a high level of proficiency in preparedness and 

 fire line construction and to encourage a team spirit among 

 the fire fighters of the Department. The regional winners 

 were: 



Northwestern Region — Kenora District 

 Northeastern Region — Swastika District 

 Southern Region — Tweed District. 



FOREST PEST CONTROL 



SURVEYS 



Outbreaks of the spruce budworm, the most destructive 

 forest insect in Canada, occur periodically, and over the 

 past two or three years there have been indications of a 

 general upswing in populations throughout eastern Canada. 

 In Ontario, this has been evident west of the lakehead in 

 Thunder Bay Forest District, at several locations throughout 

 northeastern Ontario, and down the Ottawa Valley. 



ST.ATE\1E\T OF FIRE DAMAGE, 1969 



Forest DIslrict 



Sioux Lookout 



Kenora 



Fort Frances 



Port Arthur 1 .426,979 



Geraldton 



Kapuskasing 



Cochrane 



Swastika 



V\ hite Ri\ er 



Chapleau 



Sault Ste Marie 



Sudbury 



North Ba> 



Parry Sound 



Pembroke 



Tweed 



Kemptville 



Lindsas 



Lake Huron — 



Lake Simcoe — 



TOT AL 2,5 :i4,855 



75 



75 



101.10" 



i'rl.OJh 



4,623 



134, "5b 



47 



