The province of Ontario is made up mostly of forest regions, especially in northern Ontario, which is why it is of such great importance to have forest fire protection. For a fire to break out, all it takes is a sudden gust of wind and the right climate conditions, such as a drought that lasts for a couple of weeks followed by 80 degree temperatures and low humidity. When these conditions are present, dry forest areas need but a spark to start a fire.

Most of the fires that occurred in the early days were caused by settlers clearing land, river drivers lighting cooking fires, and the carelessness of hunters, fishermen, and tourists.

The first batch of steel towers were purchased and introduced into the area in 1924. Aircraft are now used to spot and prevent fires instead of the outdated towers. 1928 brought the introduction of mechanical hoses to pump the water; hand pumps were also being used for fire prevention in the area. This was obviously a lot easier than filling up a bucket and throwing the water on the fire.

The Mississagi River Valley is especially prone to fires. Fire restrictions are often declared, but lifted a few days later. One of the worst fires Ontario has ever seen burned pretty much the whole Valley. It may not look like it today, but in some areas evidence is still visible.

It all began on May 25, 1948, when two fires started in the Mississagi Provincial Park. When these two fires met up with each other they burned 645 000 acres of timberland and created smoke that could be seen as far as Mexico. During the fire, attempts were made to seed the clouds with dry ice, in hopes that this would cause a heavy rainfall. Unfortunately this only caused a higher precipitation level in the area. It was enough to slow the fire down, but not even close to enough to put it out. Luckily not many people resided in the area that was burnt, but because of the amount of forest that was left charred, this was recorded as one of the most devastating fires of all time in Ontario.

The history of fire prevention can basically be split into three ages:

1. (1878 - 1917) - Efforts were limited to protecting only the profit producing timber areas
2. (1917 - 1941) - Service was gradually widened to affect the whole province, mechanical methods of fire prevention were introduced, professional foresters were employed
3. (1941 - 1967) - Coordination of forest protection reduced fire outbreaks to an all-time minimum.