Fire Prevention in the Field Best Practices for a Safer Industry By Veronica Sparks
While the primary goal of arborists and tree care crews is to maintain the health and safety of trees and communities, even routine activities like pruning, cut- ting, or fueling equipment can unintentionally spark a wildfire. With dry conditions, heat, and the wrong combination of circumstances, a simple oversight can lead to disaster. The responsibility to mitigate fire risk doesn’t just fall on landowners or fire agencies, though. As tree care professionals, it starts with us. Wildfires are growing in frequency and intensity across the country. The EPA reported increases in the length of wildfire sea- sons, total number of fires, as well as overall acreage burned. The good news? There are tried-and-true ways to work smarter, safer, and more responsibly in the field. Whether you operate in a high-risk fire zone or not, these practices help protect both your crew and the communities you serve. UNDERSTANDING THE RISK Chainsaws, chippers, brush cutters, and other gas-powered equipment produce heat, sparks, and
combustible materials. Add in dry brush, low humidi- ty, and windy conditions, and you have the recipe for a fast-moving fire. Jack Harvey, owner of Cool Forestry & Arboriculture , stated that fire risks are more prominent in many West Coast areas today due to the long-standing re- striction of controlled burns. The retired Cal Fire chief explained that this essential practice began to be lim- ited as far back as the Gold Rush era and continues to impact current conditions. With natural undergrowth compounding in forests, many site conditions are prime for fires that are difficult to control. “Every acre used to burn every 10 years, and then we came along and didn’t allow it,” Harvey shared, refer- ring especially to the west slope of the Sierra Nevada. “Next thing you know, we get a fire, and we don’t have the resources to put it out because it’s just way too massive.” Wildfires are not solely a West Coast risk, though. In fact, according to Resources for the Future , while wildfires in the west are larger and more in- tense than those in other regions of the U.S., there are actually more annual instances of wildfires in
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