File:Springs Fire - 48613444751.jpg

English: As a way to build fire containment lines in the loose sandy soil in forests around Mono Lake, local fire managers created a dragging apparatus they call a plow. The “V” shaped plow tool (two welded pieces of steel weighing about 70-80 lbs.) is pulled behind an ATV to clear pine needles and other flammable material. This creates an effective fire containment line. Resource advisors on the Springs Fire guide the ATV driver so they can avoid sensitive plant and animal species and historic remains. Fire crews used the plow to create areas small enough to manage the burning at a low to moderate intensity (flame lengths less than 4 ft. tall), so fire is unlikely to get into the crowns of the trees and kill them. Typically, the fire in each area has burned out enough within two to four days so that crews no longer need the containment line. At that time, crews repair the line by bringing the moved soil and small brush back into the line using a scraping hoe-like tool called a McCleod. This provides seed source for brush to reestablish, and camouflages the containment line to discourage unauthorized off-highway vehicle travel.

Photo depicts an ATV with a plow made from two pieces of metal welded into a "V" shape.

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Forest Service photo by Dave Updike