By Leigh Barratt

The development of aerial ignition devices was a major step in the use of controlled burns throughout the Canadian logging industry.

In the early 1960s in British Columbia, following an increase in logging and cutblock, or clearcut, areas, it became apparent that a more efficient, cost-effective and safer method of controlling fire on the land was needed. Using fire to reduce hazard, remove fuel ahead of fire, prepare sites for reforestation and modify vegetation for wildlife enhancement was recognized as a valuable tool. However, to achieve these goals, the tools and techniques to pursue them needed to be safe, efficient and effective.

The challenges were many because Canada had limited staff with burn experience. Wildlife enhancement areas were large, and logging cutblocks were getting larger. The Interior of British Columbia was rapidly expanding logging operations, but the terrain and fuels were much different from the coasts where most logging had traditionally taken place. New techniques and equipment were needed for burning operations.

In 1966, three Australians who worked for the government's research group — Baxter, Pacham, and Peet — developed and used the first ever aerial ignition device, or AID. The process consisted of using a pharmaceutical vial that contained potassium permanganate powder, manually injecting glycol into that vial and tossing it out the window of a fixed-wing aircraft into the designated burn area. The two chemicals mixed, and a delayed exothermic reaction occurred, usually within 15 to 45 seconds, depending on climatic conditions.