Deterioration of Fire-Killed Pine in Ontario and the Causal Wood-Boring Beetles

Abstract

In 1948, the Mississagi region of northern Ontario was swept by a niajor conflagration that began on May 25 and which, because of dry weather conditions, was not brought under control until July 23. When the fire had been extinguished, it was found to have spread over 57 townships, or 281,388 acres in all. Officers of the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests estimated that approximately 75 per cent of the fire area bore mature stands of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.), red pine (P. resinosa Ait.) and jack pine (P. banksiana Lamb.). Salvage operations began immediately in an effort to save this vast amount of valuable timber.