Caterpillars come to the rescue

Hearts aflutter, civilians gush over Nomex-clad firefighters who pack Pulaskis, McLeods and chainsaws over rugged terrain. No doubt about it, the praise that we lavish upon these hardworking men and women is well deserved.

Handcrews get a lot of the glory, and rightly so, but what about all of the other fire personnel who brave California’s explosive blazes? They, too, have earned kudos. For instance, air tanker and helicopter pilots, water tenders, and in particular, the ever-so-humble heavy fire equipment operators are worthy of generous appreciation.

An integral component of wildland fire suppression operations, the bulldozer is an effective tool. With a skilled operator at the controls of a Caterpillar D6, a dozer can cut a fire line and/or a contingency line (backup fire line) or, among other things, it can rescue stuck engines and other fire apparatus.

As third-generation San Luis Obispo County rancher and former California Department of Forestry (currently Cal Fire) heavy fire equipment operator Walter Fitzhugh said, “Dozer operators often work in unfamiliar and steep terrain where there aren’t any roads or the

roads are narrow. At times, we construct roads to get engines access to the fire.”

The nature of a wildland fire means that dozer operators work in remote locations where hazardous conditions exist. While there are instances when “bird dogging” by another firefighter is necessary, for the most part, dozer operators work with little or no supervision.

“You work independently,” Fitzhugh noted. “You’re usually out there by yourself, so you have to know the capabilities and limitations of your equipment.”

According to Fitzhugh, experience working in the hills — not just the flatlands — is a key factor for operator safety.

“Dozers try to go direct,” Fitzhugh detailed. “That’s where you’re working at the fire’s edge. That’s the safest spot — one track in the black and one in the green. I used to like it when the fire was bumping up against my tracks so if something ever happened, I could turn into the burned out area and not get run over by fire. That’s one of the bad things that can happen.

“Also, you don’t want to be surprised by steep terrain that you didn’t know was there,” Fitzhugh noted. “You need to know how to interpret a map so you can determine the type of terrain you’re working in. If you’re going along and the brush and dirt in front of you disappears, you better stop and find out why!”

Because to topography, when visual confirmation of the surroundings is limited or prevented, dozer operators can turn to support from above.

“Air attack is one of our best eyes,” Fitzhugh revealed. “They can spot problems and complications ahead of us, like when a hand crew is located below the ridge tops where we often work.”

Our beautiful Santa Lucia Mountains have already been ravaged this year, and the 2016 fire season is far from over, folks. As they say, we’re not out of the woods yet. Keep the “attaboys” coming. Hug a fireperson today.

This story was originally published October 12, 2016 at 9:33 AM with the headline "Caterpillars come to the rescue."