Monday, May 17, 2010

Fighting wildland fires with handtools in Tennessee



This is a nice video that I found recently on using handtools to fight wildland fires in Tennessee. They show each tool, describing how the tool is used. But they go a step further, using some graphics to show the fire while describing how to fight a wildland fire in the often steep terrain found in the Tennessee mountains. While some of the specifics in this fifteen minute video, e.g. the use of a portable leaf blower to blow away leaf litter, are specifically applicable to the hardwood forests in TN and/or the steep terrain, I enjoyed this glimpse into the hard word involved in fighting wildland fires. And I hope that you do as well.

I would caution you to keep in mind that this video only talks about the use of handtools. Remember that there are a variety of tools in the arsonal used by wildland fire fighting agencies, such as dozers, and various trucks and water tenders, and lets not forget the support of our friends in the sky -- tankers and helos.

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