June 29th Utopia Controlled Structure Burn (Photos by Cheryl Potter) |
Here's the scene before. Two outbuildings are not visible, behind the main house. We're not sure of when the house was built, though the 1930's would seem reasonable. |
North of Billings, Montana, about six miles outside of the town of Lavina, at the intersection of Utopia Road & S.E. Bench Road, in Golden Valley County... a site that one doesn't come upon very often. |
Every firefighter's idea of a good time. It was a fine summer evening and the wind was dying down. Even so, there were several spot fires as far as 250 feet downwind. Lavina and Ryegate crews were able to gain experience with high-powered nozzles, strategy and technique. Here's a shot of Tomàs & Peter trying to keep the fire from spreading downwind, beyond the structure. |
This photo shows the success of the strategy of burning from the downwind end of the structure towards the upwind end. This helps to prevent the wind from igniting more and more fuel and creating more downwind spot-fire potential. The front wall of the house is all that is left to go. |
And finally, the end is in sight. |
Things have settled down, at least by comparison. It's time for some experience with a new Task Force Tip, Mid-Matic series nozzle. This nozzle is rated at an adjustable 70 - 200GPM at a constant 100PSI. One person cannot control it. Here, firefighters Kelly Hoyt and Peter Smith manage the hose as William Stratman operates the nozzle. Everyone had their turn and had quite a workout. |