7/25/14 3:15 pm Carlton - Winthrop: Fighting Fire Directly or Indirectly

When Fire Operations people make decisions about tactics for fighting fire, they keep firefighter and public safety at the forefront in the decision-making process.  Many factors are considered when making the choice to go DIRECT or INDIRECT in fighting the fire.  Here, Tony Gilmer, Safety Officer with the Washington Interagency Team 2, talks about safety and the decision to go direct or indirect.

On the Carlton Complex, the safety officers took into consideration how much confidence they had in whether control lines would hold once established.  Direct lines are always preferable because firefighters can see the fire and adapt to quickly changing conditions.  They can also step right into the black if a flare-up occurs.

 However, after considerable time on the ground trying to identify a viable direct line around the northern end of the fire, east of Pearrygin Lake,  none could be found that would provide for safety in a way that would meet short and long term confidence levels.  They found numerous spot fires on every steep slopes.  The potential for rolling logs and other debris was very high which can ignite fires down slope. Additionally, the weather forecast calls for critically low humidities, snags are numerous, steep terrain makes escaping to safety difficult and if needed, emergency evacuation would be extremely difficult.

As a result, an indirect line plan has been developed where the fire can be fought on OUR terms providing more control over the safety of firefighters and the public.