Blower Clears Established Firelines in Hardwood Forests Without Disturbing Soil, Discussion

Blower Clears Established Firelines in Hardwood Forests Without Disturbing Soil

Discussion

The Shawnee National Forest already has used the UTV-mounted blower on prescribed burns. The forest's staff thinks the blower might be useful for fire suppression in open stands or to clear line constructed with a chain saw. The blower excels in quickly touching up established cleared firelines on the day of a prescribed burn.

So far, the blower's flexible chute has passed over many logs and stumps and has been through a lot of narrow creek crossings without showing any real wear and tear or getting snagged. The Shawnee National Forest plans to continue experimenting to find the best length for the chute. Existing prescribed firelines can be cleared in a single pass when leaves are wet or damp or when needles are dry. When needles are wet, a number of passes may be needed to clear the fireline. When leaves are dry, the operator may have to stop periodically to clean debris from the undercarriage. It is faster to make several passes with the KB3 blower than to have a crew using several backpack blowers do the work, based on the experience of the Shawnee National Forest.

The Shawnee National Forest's fire crew feels that the blower is well worth the investment, given the amount of quality fireline the blower can clear quickly. Even three or four crewmembers using backpack blowers could not clear fireline more quickly than two crewmembers using the KB3 blower. The KB3 blower has reduced the hours needed to clear firelines, increasing the number of acres that can be prepped for prescribed burning. Because the KB3 blower can clear fireline in wet or moist ground cover, the Shawnee National Forest can clear fireline and prep burn units during conditions that otherwise would not be suitable. When crews were using backpack blowers to clear firelines, the crews could clear fireline only when the leaves or needles were drier.

MTDC will create engineering drawings for the flexible air chute after the Shawnee National Forest has determined the optimal length.