I waited for the rest of my crew at our first exercise
point, we were going to be heading into the events with digging fire line. I
was a little relieved at that, getting this out of the way before the heat of
the day really cranked up seemed like a grand idea to me.
We were divided into 4 squads and had Squad Bosses who were
in their own training like us. There were either 2 or 3 students under each
Squad Boss, and we reported to those respective leaders. They would then report
to our Crew Boss.
Our goal was to dig a 3-foot-wide fire line with a foot in
the middle down to mineral soil. We had a selection of tools to accomplish
this: Pulaskis, combi-tools and shovels. There would be more types of
tools depending on the terrain and fuel type if the crew was on an assignment.
After the crew’s briefing and hiking to the simulated fire
area, we all began to dig line. Using something called the one lick method;
we’d all take one stroke or so with our tools and move on, all while keeping 10
feet of distance between ourselves. I had been on a prescribed fire recently
and it was still in my head to be looking for spot fires, so even hearing the
reminders from the instructors I was actively looking around me. I spotted
smoke (yes, real smoke) and announced it to the crew.
My squad boss took control of the situation and the other
two squad members plus myself followed him. We worked our way through the brush
to where the smoke was, spotting two more spot fires on the way in. We quickly
dug a line around the respective spots and upon being told by the squad boss,
we made our way back to the line to continue digging.
We broke for a while to learn some new things – like how to
grid for spot fires and how to use a belt weather kit to determine how close
the area was to an ignition point. We all took the extra time to hydrate while
we learned, since hydration is another key element for your health on
assignment.
Having finished our line digging it was time to grid for
spot fires. This is a slow and careful process so that no fires are missed. We
all formed a line on the green side of the fire line, and keeping approximately
4 feet between us began our search; our goal was to grid one way and then come
back again in the opposite direction. Then someone near my right yelled,
“SNAKE!” Shortly it was followed by, “Oh hell, another snake!!” One of the
other squad members had almost stepped on one rattlesnake, and when they
stepped backwards almost stepped on another one. My first instinct was to run very far and very fast, but I held still.
We finished gridding the first direction, having found a few
of the spot fires that were laid out for us. But, having seen the snakes and
some time constraints, we ended the gridding. On our way out of the exercise we
were to rehabilitate the line. To do this we had to pull all the dirt and leaf
litter we removed from the line back onto the line and make it look like
nothing had ever happened there.
Leaving the exercise area, I was feeling good about the day.
We settled in for our bagged lunch – another high calorie deal – and waited
until it was time for our next exercise.
As always, I hope you all stick with me through this! Only a few more to go!
-Katie
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