The plan was to ignite a slash line built by the fuels crew last summer. The heat and flame from the slash would ignite the adjoining tree crowns and the wind would push it from crown to crown. There wasn't enough ground fuel to sustain a fire, so it had to be a crown fire. Besides, it's always windy in southern Utah. So, we each grabbed a couple of drip torches and hiked in to the slash line. It was sunny and warm, but still. Very still. I got out my wind gauge: Wind speeds of zero, with gusts to three. The spot weather forecast had the winds picking up later in the afternoon, so we waited. And waited. By about 1500, I was getting winds of three, with gusts to seven. Feeling like we had to do something, the firing boss sent me one way on the slash line, and sent Matt the other way. It was a test fire. I lit about 30 yards of slash and stopped to wait. It didn't work. Where the slash was piled directly against a tree, part of the live crown was consumed, but then it just went out. Some gentle breezes swirled around, but not enough wind came up to push the flames. Actually, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. Conifer leaves are always flammable, and I figured we'd put enough heat into them that they'd pop, starting a chain reaction. But, I guess the live fuel moistures were too high. In any case, the burn boss called it off, and we hauled our nearly full drip torches back to the road. That, as they say, is why you have a test fire.
To call off a burn with a bunch FFT2 standing around with full drip torches because conditions are just right, is sign of someone with good decision making skills and desire to keep off the front page of the local newspaper. Ata-boy burn boss.
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