LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 24 Our crew was broken into three squads of 4 to 5 people. My squad's assignment was to go to a nearby pond, set up our pump, and flank the fire front that was burning through a logging clearing. We used hand tools to break up the ground at the fire front followed by the hose to put the fire out. The field was filled with low-lying smoke that created poor visibility and, at times, made it hard to breathe. Meanwhile, the he- licopter was dropping water on different areas of the fire. Every 100 feet, we stopped and added another length of hose as we wrapped around the edge of the fire. Our goal was not only to contain the fire but to also stop the flames from reaching slash piles in the middle of the field. Once slash piles start to burn, they are very hard to put out. Heavy machinery is the most effective, and we did not have that equipment. We were successful in containing this part of the fire. We then worked our way along a logging road that also served as our fire line and landing zone for our helicopter. Farther down the road were a few ig- nited slash piles. My squad spent the remainder of the day dosing these piles to prevent the fire from jump- ing the logging road and continuing to burn north. Af- ter a debrief of the day's actions, we drove back to the outfitter for dinner and to get ready for the next day. Day two was one of the more eventful days on the trip. After breakfast and the morning briefing, our crew drove to the fire. We knew that with the hot and dry weather, the fire activity would increase in the afternoon when the relative humidity dropped. My squad started our pump and retraced our line from the previous day, hitting the hotspots that remained. At the previously burned slash piles, a series of sprinklers were set up. This prevented the slash piles from reig- niting without having to have someone there. We then moved into the forest, putting out flames near the road that were burning in the moss and shrubs. Drag- ging the hose through the woods proved challenging as the hose was constantly getting snagged on logs, stumps, and trees. We would have to constantly go back and free the hose from whatever it got snagged on. Having a person or two to help manage the hose was a huge help for the person at the end spraying water. As expected in the afternoon, we started to see the flames that we hadn't yet battled get taller. We could hear the roar of some trees torching just out of eye- sight; it sounded like a freight train. The sound is cre- ated by fire pulling air in. I've heard how loud wildland fire can be, but experiencing it firsthand is something else — the kind of thing you can't teach from a class- room. Our squad leader decided we should head back to the road and get eyes on the flames. Trees were torching in multiple spots with flame lengths of around 30 to 40 feet engulfing the trees. Our squad leader radioed for the two helicopters to start doing bucket drops and for the rest of the crew to head to our location. If the fire jumped the road, it would keep burning north. This road was the best spot to stop it. To our backs, we had more slash piles and a dry log clearing just waiting to burn. With so many lakes and rivers around us, the helicopters didn't have to go far for water and were dropping buckets about once a minute. After 20 minutes or so of constant bucket drops, the flames were knocked down enough for us to get in close with the hose. However, the fire had already thrown hot needles and embers over the road to the unburned side. Little puffs of smoke were appearing everywhere in the clearing, and one of the slash piles was ablaze. The whole crew quickly

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