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Bulldozers of fire

A fire dozer parked along side a dirt road in a pinyon forest while smoke from a large wildfire rises into the sky in the background.
At about 50,000 pounds, equipped with a 12-foot metal blade, the medium sized dozer can construct a wider fireline quickly. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, medium-sized dozers are generally the best all-around size for fireline construction as they are maneuverable and…
#Fire, #Firefighters, #WildlandFirefighting, #FireAndAviationManagement, #Mitigation, #HeavyEquipment, #Wildfire, #FireLine

Operation Sky Hammer: Fighting fire in the Rockies

A wildland firefighter skycrane helicopter on the ground with a semi-truck and tank trailer in the background.
When smoke begins to rise across the Rocky Mountains, a unique firefighting force lifts off—fast. Operation Sky Hammer was designed to improve success during initial attack on wildfires. The effort combines two helitankers, a helicopter coordinator, and a mobile retardant base. Together, they form a highly mobile and high‑powered response team that can be staged in areas with high fire danger.…
#Fire, #Aviation, #FireAndAviationManagement, #Helicopter, #Firefighters, #WildlandFirefighting, #Wildfire

Lifeline of the fireline: Inside the Rocky Mountain Area Fire Cache

Image shows two men standing in aisles packed with equipment.
On the outskirts of Denver lies an unassuming building that, in contrast to its humble exterior, is the beating heart of federal firefighting efforts in the Rocky Mountains. Walking through the doors of the Rocky Mountain Area Fire Cache, you would never realize that they support thousands of firefighters every year…
#Fire, #Firefighters, #WildlandFirefighting

A “typical” day as a burn boss (if there is one)

Image shows a man in a baseball cap pointing to a map of a prescribed fire plan.
Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Cory Carlson discusses the plan for the Goldwater Prescribed Fire Project with Prescott National Forest Hotshot crew members. (USDA Forest Service photo by Ansgar Mitchell) It’s 8 a.m.Cory Carlson is onsite and ready to start his workday as a district fire management…
#PrescribedFire, #ControlledBurn, #Firefighters, #WildlandFirefighting, #WildfirePrevention

Valentine Fire restores forest and community

Sunshine peeks through trees and smoke as the slow-moving fire reaches a road.
Aerial fire ignitions conducted during the Valentine Fire. Spheres, about the size of ping-pong balls, filled with an incendiary cocktail of potassium permanganate activated by ethylene glycol, were dropped by firefighters to reduce the fuels available to the main body of the Valentine Fire. (USDA Forest Service photo by Danny Fairchild) Smoke rising from a forest is ominous. Often it is the…
#WildlandFirefighting, #LandManagement, #ControlledBurn, #Arizona

A family fire legacy

A bearded man in a wildland firefighter uniform takes a selfie in front a wooded area covered in smoke.
A childhood dream ignited.Matthew Rau was five years old when his family moved into government housing at a U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service ranger station. Some of his earliest memories are waking up in the mornings and seeing wildland firefighters exercising around the compound. He studied their work ethic and camaraderie and knew from that young age he wanted to be part of it.…
#WildlandFirefighting, #MentalHealth, suicide prevention