168 



REPORT OF THE 



No. 3 



Settlers were responsible for 170 fires, or 12.7 per cent, of the total. Of 

 this number 26 were permit fires which got beyond control. It is worthy of 

 note that the number of fires caused by settlers did not increase in proportion 

 to the increase in the total number of fires, due in no small degree to the applica- 

 tion of the Permit Regulations to include that portion of Northern Ontario 

 formerly exempt. 



During the season twenty-two convictions were secured for setting out 

 fires contrary to the Regulations. The majority of these occurred after the 

 extension of the Permit Area. 



Campers, by which is meant berry-pickers, picnickers, tourists, trappers, 

 Indians and prospectors, were charged with 167 fires, or 12.4 per cent of the 

 total. It was not possible to definitely place the responsibility for any one of 

 these fires. The adoption of the Travel Permit for certain districts, at least 

 during hazardous periods, may be necessary to secure greater caution on the 

 part of people in the woods. 



Railways are known to have caused 249 fires, or 18.5 per cent, of the total. 

 In part these can be attributed to "hang-overs" from early spring burning in 

 cleaning up the rights-of-way, the fires burning deep into the dry ground and 

 breaking out again days after all indications of fire had disappeared on the 

 surface. In some cases fires were definitely traced to locomotives which, on 

 immediate inspection, failed to show any defects in the fire protective appliances. 



The fires of railway origin were distributed as follows: 



AVERAGE NUMBER OF RAILWAY FIRES PER HUNDRED MILES OF LINE 

 THROUGH FOREST SECTIONS 



Railway 



1923 



1922 



1921 



Canadian National Railways (exclusive of northern line) 



Canadian Pacific Railway 



Canadian National Railways (northern transcontinental line only) 



Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway 



Algoma Eastern Railway 



Algoma Central and Hudson Bay Railway 



6.2 

 5.3 

 2.0 

 7.3 

 1.1 

 3.0 



•■3.2 

 2.7 

 2.4 

 7.3 

 4.5 

 4.2 



*3.7 

 3.9 

 1.8 

 6.3 

 5.9 

 0.6 



4.9 



3.3 



3.7 



♦Former C.N.R. and G.T.R. figures combined. 



♦Former C.N.R. and G.T.R. figures combined. 



