Truck Damage During Pile Burning 2019

On December 6, three members of Tiller Ranger District’s fire management were assigned to burn piles on two units. The interior piles were hand piles. Machine piles were located along the road. Their 2014 Dodge Ram 3500 was parked  next to a large landing machine pile. The ground was covered in snow. It seemed the truck was in a good location—they weren't going to light that large landing pile until the end of the day, right before they left. At that time, the group lit that landing pile—located roughly 50-60 feet from the truck.

When they attempted to move the truck, the tires started to spin in the snow. They tried again, but the tires just spun and the rear of the truck slid away from the road. An engine was called that sprayed 750 gallons of water on the pile, which slowed the progress and dissipated quite a bit of heat near the truck. The tow truck arrived a short time after that. They were able to successfully pull the truck out without it receiving any damage.

Prescribed Fire, Equipment, Firing, RLS, Vehicle Burn Damage