110 



REPORT OF THE 



No. 7 



Month 



Acreage Covered by Permits 



1929 



1928 



1927 



1926 



1925 



1924 



April 



May 



June , 



July 



August . . . 

 September , 

 October. . . 



Totals 



2,662 

 9,882 

 24,581 

 8,627 

 2,693 

 2,302 

 1,005 



701 



21,435 



23,453 



9,589 



5,796 



1,812 



119 



7,138 



15,265 



13,896 



5,662 



8,408 



4,742 



651 



3,686 



13,484 



12,020 



7,521 



4,434 



4,800 



43 



7,981 

 12,397 

 5,851 

 7,685 

 6,667 

 6,546 

 41 



51,752 



62,905 



55,762 



45,988 



47,168 



4,956 

 2,812 

 10,188 

 3,546 

 5,021 

 9,450 

 52 



36,025 



(6) Equipment 



Fire fighting equipment of all kinds was put during the season to the most 

 severe test. Especially was this true of the forest fire-fighting pumps and hose. 

 These failed in only one respect — the limited supply. 



Probably never before, certainly not in Ontario, have the pumps been called 

 upon to stand up under such severe conditions. There were breakages, of course, 

 many of them, but these were due largely to the inexperience of many of the 

 operators who had to be picked up at random to man the many fires. 



At one time ninety-six pumps were in operation in the Hudson and Kenora 

 Inspectorates and more would have been in use had they been available. Seven 

 pumps were used on one fire in the Kenora District, one of which ran continuously 

 for 2C0 hours and two others for 175 hours each. 



Other mechanical equipment in use also did yeoman service but the season 

 demonstrated conclusively that there is little advantage in spending thousands 

 of dollars each year on pumps, motor cars, and boats unless the staff is made up 

 of men who can intelligently operate this equipment. 



A portable wireless set was given a thorough trial on one of the larger fires 

 in the Red Lake District. This set provided during the course of the fire 

 continuous communication between the suppression crew and headquarters, a 

 distance of thirty miles. Such communication in a country where nearly all 

 transportation is by air is at times invaluable and it is expected that more of 

 these sets will be put into use. 



Aircraft were subject to continuous use throughout the season, particularly 

 for the transportation of men and supplies. As was to be expected under such 

 severe conditions the old H.S. 2 L. machines faltered. Two of these were con- 

 demned during the season and three more after the close of the season. The 

 Moth machines, however, stood up wonderfully well under the strain. 



