After a devastating prairie fire destroyed much of the grass and timber in the area around Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, many First Nations and Métis people were driven by a bison shortage and an increasing population to seek out new settlements. Many settled along the Milk River, south of the 49th parallel, and the Frenchman River, one of its tributaries in Saskatchewan. A number of them settled in the area known by the Métis as Talle de Saules (clump of willows) and Hart Rouge, now known as Willow Bunch.