The Forest Commandos (1946)

• 64%
• 1946
• Documentary
• Van Campen Heilner

This documentary short focuses on the work of the bush pilots of the Ontario forest services, many of whom go on to serve in other piloting capacities such as in the Canadian military. Much of the work is in assisting fire ranger services. This work is all the more important due to forestry being the primary resource industry of the Ontario economy, with the products both for domestic and international markets. Fires are both natural and man-made, the threat exacerbated by dead or decaying trees due to predatory insects feeding off the wood and/or a multitude of diseases. The bush pilots are generally alerted of fires and other problems by the staff at a series of towers covering the forests. These problems are dealt with proactively if possible, such as control of any discovered destructive insect infestations or alerting campers to proper campfire procedures. This film focuses largely on bush pilot Bill McCormick, former bush pilot turned ferry commander George Phillips and forest fire services dealing with a fire on the shores of Shining Tree Lake near the small town of Gogama, which itself was devastated by fire only five years earlier.