OPAS (Ontario Provincial Air Service)

The Ontario Provincial Air Service (OPAS) was formed by the Government of Ontario in 1924 to protect Ontario’s vast forests through the aerial detection of forest fires, aerial transportation of fire crews and equipment, map making, aerial photography and forest inventory. At the same time, they constructed a hangar on the shore of the St Mary’s River in Sault Ste. Marie to house an initial fleet of World War I surplus Curtiss HS-2L flying boats. In the first year of operation, 600 forest fires were spotted