Spot Fire Across Handline While Holding
You are FFT1 leading a 10-person module building handline along the left flank of a 200-acre fire. You anchored at a dozer line near a road, and the line is 150 feet long. The fuel is fuel model 8 closed timber litter; slope is 20%; wind is 10 mph gusting 15; relative humidity is 30%. You have two sawyers, six firefighters with hand tools, a Type 6 engine with 300 gallons, and a Mark III pump drafting from a creek 200 feet away. At 1530, a spot fire about 50 by 50 feet establishes 40 feet outside your line, downslope. The engine operator reports the pump is at 80 psi and the hose lay is 250 feet. Your crew has been working 5 hours since the last break.
1. Decide whether to attack the spot fire or hold the line, and explain the reasoning.
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First, hold the anchor and protect the line. The spot is only about 50 by 50 feet, 40 feet outside the line and downslope, so it threatens to burn back uphill into unburned fuel below the line. But the crew has been working 5 hours and is fatigued. I would assign the engine operator and two firefighters to attack the spot with the hose lay if the 250-foot lay reaches and the pump can maintain pressure; the rest of the crew holds the anchor, widens the line, and posts a lookout. I would not split the crew into multiple small attacks. If the spot is not knocked down quickly, or if it spots again, disengage to the dozer line or road and treat the handline as lost. The decision point is whether the spot can be controlled within hose reach and before it makes a run uphill; if not, the line is not worth the risk.
2. Describe your anchor and holding plan for the next 30 minutes.
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Anchor and hold from the road. Cold-trail the dozer line, then build handline from the anchor with the sawyers cutting ahead and the hand crew clearing to mineral soil. Keep the line on the contour where possible, tie into the dozer line, and remove heavy fuels from the inside edge. Post a lookout with a radio and set a trigger: if the spot crosses below the line or the wind increases, all crews move to the road. Keep the hose lay charged and staged at the anchor. Do not let the fire get below the line; if it does, the line is compromised. Use the pump to wet down the inside edge and any unburned fuel within 10-20 feet of the line.
3. What mop-up criteria would you use before calling this segment held?
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Mop-up starts at the anchor and works along the line. The standard is to patrol until the edge is cold to the touch and no smoke is visible, with heat checked by hand in the duff and roots. I would mop 30-50 feet in from the line where fuel model 8 litter holds heat, and further where the spot burned. Remove unburned fuel that could roll across the line, and check below the line for hidden heat. Because the crew is fatigued, rotate mop-up crews and keep a lookout. If heat is found, wet it, stir it, and recheck. Do not call the line held until the cold trail is complete and the division supervisor has been informed.