The Southern Alps, in particular the Canton Ticino, is the region of Switzerland that is most affected by the phenomenon of forest fires. Therefore, the cantonal authorities are continually confronted with problems of prevention, fire fighting and mitigation of the effects of forest fires. In this article forest fire management in Canton Ticino is analyzed in historical terms, verifying in particular the impact of the methods used and the improvement of technology addressing the frequency of events and the extent of burned surfaces. In this way it has been possible to show how a few structural measures (better organization of fire fighting crews and equipment, introduction of aerial fire fighting techniques, electrification followed by construction of shelters along railway lines, etc.) have rather reduced the extent of burned surfaces, while legislative measures such as restrictions of open fires help to reduce the number of forest fires.