Fire Thought For The Day 009
Fuel Type Changes
Here in the east we are blessed with a host of fuel types. Sometimes it is a real dog’s breakfast to deal with. We could have a fire that is burning in grass, then it burns into a clear-cut, then into a softwood stand, then into a hardwood stand, back to grass, into a plantation, next it is threatening a home in the Urban Interface, and on and on it goes.
This can be a very dangerous situation. You get to the fire and see a certain type of fire behavior under certain weather conditions, in a given fuel type, influenced also by the type of topography. The fire seems to be exhibiting behavior you feel you can deal with. Be sure to consider what type of fuel the fire will burn into in the future. It may exhibit totally different fire behavior under the same weather and topographic features that are influencing the fire behavior.
Again, I will state and restate, we are all very good at reacting, we need to get more proactive.
Ask yourself:
- Where am I and my crew now? What type of fire behavior am I seeing?
- Where will we all be in the future? What will the fire be doing at that time?
- Is the fire going to burn into a new type of fuel?
- As always, is the wind picking up, or is it forecast to pick up in the future?
- As always, is the fire going to burn into different topography?
- Remember, all of these things influence fire behavior. All the more reason to have one or two very trusted Lookouts posted. But. I know you folks are all going to implement LACES on every fire. It is a must. Take the time to do things right.
Fuel type changes can also be our friends too. A fast moving crown fire can sometimes burn into a hardwood stand for example, and the fire may drop from the crown to the surface. It may still be very hot and dangerous; however, with help from air tankers it may be a place to catch the fire. We must learn to look ahead and plan for things such as this too.
Remember too, that it does not take a big stand of softwood to burn and hurt people. A small jackpot of fuel or even a single softwood tree can ignite and burn very intensely. This can happen very suddenly. Some burn over events start and end very quickly. Think about how quickly a single softwood tree can burn, how long does it take? Seconds. This may be all the time it takes for you or your crew to be burned over.
Heads up always. LACES always. Foresight always.
Until next time, above all else Stay Safe! Tex
Fuel Type Changes
Here in the east we are blessed with a host of fuel types. Sometimes it is a real dog’s breakfast to deal with. We could have a fire that is burning in grass, then it burns into a clear-cut, then into a softwood stand, then into a hardwood stand, back to grass, into a plantation, next it is threatening a home in the Urban Interface, and on and on it goes.
This can be a very dangerous situation. You get to the fire and see a certain type of fire behavior under certain weather conditions, in a given fuel type, influenced also by the type of topography. The fire seems to be exhibiting behavior you feel you can deal with. Be sure to consider what type of fuel the fire will burn into in the future. It may exhibit totally different fire behavior under the same weather and topographic features that are influencing the fire behavior.
Again, I will state and restate, we are all very good at reacting, we need to get more proactive.
Ask yourself:
- Where am I and my crew now? What type of fire behavior am I seeing?
- Where will we all be in the future? What will the fire be doing at that time?
- Is the fire going to burn into a new type of fuel?
- As always, is the wind picking up, or is it forecast to pick up in the future?
- As always, is the fire going to burn into different topography?
- Remember, all of these things influence fire behavior. All the more reason to have one or two very trusted Lookouts posted. But. I know you folks are all going to implement LACES on every fire. It is a must. Take the time to do things right.
Fuel type changes can also be our friends too. A fast moving crown fire can sometimes burn into a hardwood stand for example, and the fire may drop from the crown to the surface. It may still be very hot and dangerous; however, with help from air tankers it may be a place to catch the fire. We must learn to look ahead and plan for things such as this too.
Remember too, that it does not take a big stand of softwood to burn and hurt people. A small jackpot of fuel or even a single softwood tree can ignite and burn very intensely. This can happen very suddenly. Some burn over events start and end very quickly. Think about how quickly a single softwood tree can burn, how long does it take? Seconds. This may be all the time it takes for you or your crew to be burned over.
Heads up always. LACES always. Foresight always.
Until next time, above all else Stay Safe! Tex
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