In 1960, the USDA Forest Service established the Northern Forest Fire Laboratory (now the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory) to find scientific solutions for better managing the nation's wildland resources and to research ways to improve forest fire prevention and suppression. This new state-of-the-art research facility did not emerge from a vacuum, however. This report explores the tradition of research within the Forest Service and how these early research programs, including fire-related research at the Priest River Experimental Forest, contributed to the establishment of the Fire Lab. This history also explores the role played by key events in shaping fire-related research.