Felling Dangerous trees, whilst on fire.

[Yeahman]

I'm a member of a bush fire brigade, recently I’ve had to fell some good sized trees on the fire ground. All were dead and parts of them on fire. One was hollow and had a tripod for a trunk, i was able to reach above the cavity and put a scarf in on good wood. Prior to felling I assessed them as I would a normal tree. Everything went well, and i gained some good experience.

Just wondering if any body else has had similar experiences, or can suggest some hazards to watch for that I might not have thought of.

Thanks.

 

[ranchjn]

I'm a member of a bush fire brigade, recently I’ve had to fell some good sized trees on the fire ground. All were dead and parts of them on fire. One was hollow and had a tripod for a trunk, i was able to reach above the cavity and put a scarf in on good wood. Prior to felling I assessed them as I would a normal tree. Everything went well, and i gained some good experience.

Just wondering if any body else has had similar experiences, or can suggest some hazards to watch for that I might not have thought of.

Thanks.

I would never do anything like that... way to dangerous for my taste, but i remember reading a thread about falling timber during forest fires. check out http://arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=26578&highlight=cut+tree+fire Too bad all the pictures are gone, it was really amazing stuff!

 

[tek9tim]

Yupper. Been a sawyer on an initial attack hand crew for the last 3 years, dropped some gnarly burning trees. A couple of things I've learned:

Use the catface (burned out section) to your advantage, if possible. It can act as a good part of your face cut sometimes. Also be aware of the effect it may have on your cuts due to its location.

Look closely for widowmakers above you, often times the trunk burns away from a limb or vice versa, then plan your cutting location accordingly.

Cool it down if possible. Cool down your standing area as well.

Don't get too hung up on dropping the tree. Consider letting it burn out and fall on its own.

There's a lot more than that, but there're some basics.