O.K. First of all I know it is rugged country with mountains and all that BUT, ever night on the National news they show guys fitting the fire with a shovel on land I could drive on. WHY do we never see dozer or heavy equipment. Here in the east almost ever county has a fire dozer like a hightrack D4 cab with a plow on the back. Again I know the terrain is rough but around some of those homes and some places could they not use a dozer?
- Thread starter jm.
- Start date
37chief
Well-known Member
- Location
- California
They are out there, the news crews just can't get to where they are working. They have people with tractors on call to offer their services if needed. I think it pays very well. Stan
Handyman
Member
- Location
- Bonneville County, Idaho
The cats are busy cutting lines in the heavy brush and trees, the areas where the hand crews are shown is mostly grass and light brush. the cats are not D4s either the smallest will be a D6 with D8s and D9s doing the bulk of the work.
TomH in PA
Well-known Member
" ever night on the National news they show guys fitting the fire with a shovel on land I could drive on"
Talking heads from National news have to put on their makeup, drive to the scene in the air conditioned van, set up cameras and lights, video the sound bite they wrote on the way, then hurry back to the air conditioned studio to wait for the next assignment. Reporting? It"s a lost art.
Talking heads from National news have to put on their makeup, drive to the scene in the air conditioned van, set up cameras and lights, video the sound bite they wrote on the way, then hurry back to the air conditioned studio to wait for the next assignment. Reporting? It"s a lost art.
I so much as so had figured that those folks were not that stupid but more like you say the news crews just so not get back where the dozers are but just wanted someone to tell me that. If you just watch the news they would have you believe it is man against nature by himself. Glad someone cleared it up for me. Thanks
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
As 37 Chief said,the heavy equipment is out there. Some county owned, some state owned and some federal, National Guard ect. Lots of contractors ect. Heck, we even have a DC 10 firebomber. Not sure where in the east you are from, but those in the west, Montana, Washington, the Dakotas, California, Oregon, New Mexico ect we have some wild fires larger that some eastern states. Those mountians are steep, fuel load enormous, 0 % humidity and winds that can blow a D6 away. Firefighting resources are limited. No one is holding back, In the Mutual Aid agreements everybody sent everything they could spare to help. Across state lines definately. It is the way the fire fighting community works. Some times you just have to set up a defensive line you think you can hold. Then pray for cooler weather, rain, less wind. Or that someone at logistics can find more units to send.
Every time there is a sizeable forest fire, the Forest Service commandeers trucks and equipment from ADOT.
They grab dozers, backhoes and water trucks, which they really abuse - then "lose" the equipment in their system and it takes ADOT months to locate and then do the repairs to the equipment.
Forest Service pays a flat useage fee, which doesn't even cover the repair costs most of the time. The D6's really take a beating before we get them back - and D6 repairs ain't cheap.
They grab dozers, backhoes and water trucks, which they really abuse - then "lose" the equipment in their system and it takes ADOT months to locate and then do the repairs to the equipment.
Forest Service pays a flat useage fee, which doesn't even cover the repair costs most of the time. The D6's really take a beating before we get them back - and D6 repairs ain't cheap.
Check Break
Member
I'm curious. When was the last time you saw a D9 on a fire; IDL, BLM, USFS. From what I've been hearing the Feds aren't hiring D8-s much anymore either. Perhaps IDL manages their fires differently.
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