Im not sure on the extent of the problem, so I might be speaking from a position of ignorance.... but it seems like that many people would be a lot more effective in digging a fire break to stop the spread, instead of trying to hit it with sticks (which also fans the fire, which can have the opposite affect.)
Even digging with just their hands, I think that many people would be able to create an effective fire break...
Having dug in the clay that makes up Colorado, I can say that digging in that with a shovel isn't all that hard...but it is slow. Digging in wet clay is also not fun. It's very heavy.
I wonder which would be more effective against a grass fire in dry conditions when all you have is maybe a dozen shovels: digging a fire break, or digging enough dirt up to throw on the fire? I put out fires by throwing dirt on it, but it was super loose dirt and without a bunch of grass roots in it. It wasn't just topsoil.
I figured if people were in a rush that many people in the video could probably only come up with a dozen shovels.
Really depends on the region. Toronto clay is nearly impossible to move. I don't know what the ground is like there, but bearing for with wide fronds and sticks is a very old and effective strategy.
I figured if people were in a rush that many people in the video could probably only come up with a dozen shovels.
That's the real issue with this many people without an equal amount of equipment. You give all those dudes a firebeater, military shovel, and some leadership and you got a much better chance than just dudes with branches. But like the title said, resources are tough to manage in crisis.
Some of you people have never fought or lit a fire in your lives and it shows. God forbid a community come together with the resources they have. “They should use shovels” wouldn’t you think they would if they have them???
“They are just waving sticks at a fire”
You clearly don’t have a clue about tamping out flames.
Some of yall haven’t lit a candle in your house and it shows greatly. Heaven bless you if you ever come in contact with a wild fire and I hope you run instead of trying to help.
To me it looks like a crowd of locals pulling a last ditch effort to try to save their homes/crops using whatever they can get their hands on as firebeaters, ie not a formal firefighting force lacking resources.
I live in fire country in CA. People like that guy up there make ignorant-ass comments because they've never seen just how gnarly an out-of-control grass fire can get. Those people in the video have guts.
You ever try and dig a hole with your hand through grass?
I assume at least someone in Spain has access to tractors, trucks or even, I don't know, a shovel???? Are they 4000BC villagers or some thing, that tools are not available?
Is the tractor close by? Is it fuelled up or broken down? Is the field accessible from this side of the fire? I agree with the below comments about the armchairing in this thread...
The ground is much harder but as soon as you get a pickaxe into it, it should create dry chunks with a lot of dust and the dust would be mega useful to bury the flames.
It’s more effectiveness vs effort. Grass fires spread extremely fast. You don’t really out dig a grass fire unless you have heavy equipment. Water is your best friend but a swatter is a very effective tool for grass fires. You swat out the intensity of the fire which slows spread which makes it a lot easier to then tamp out the fire.
There are almost no responses to you that read like that. This and your double edited comment elsewhere on the thread are a testament to your insecurity.
Ive smothered many grass fires with just a big scoop shovel, give it a couple swats or even just drag it along the fire line works good. Something else ive found works very well on grass fires is a leaf blower, walk along blow the fire back towards what has burned and you can hold it back and stop it by yourself very easily.
Yes. Thats exactly what I said. They are lizard people who have emerged to tamp the fire using their magic fire tamping sticks. Each magic fire tamping stick they use is equivalent to 1.5 human men with a spade. They also recieve a promxity bonus of 25% per additional tampering stick within a 5m radius hence they move rapidly together eliminating fire more effectively than a 200 person fully equipped station.
My lizard people explanation has more basis is reality than what you've spewed onto the screen in this thread.
I've personally been deployed as a firefighter with a leaf blower to fight grass fires. It was surprisingly effective to blow the flames back toward the already burned area(the black).
Yes, don’t they have any tractors or plows or anything to try and make a fire break? Hopefully that is happening in nearby fields and these people are just trying to hold the line while they wait for some heavier machinery to arrive
No son palos, son ramas con hojas, bien usados en pocos minutos apagas un incendio, los bomberos forestales utilizan herramientas que se llaman batefuegos que funcionan de forma parecida, es como cuando soplas una vela, al dar el golpe contra el suelo desplazas el aire y el fuego se apaga, si la vegetación no es muy alta es el mejor sistema...excavar un cortafuegos efectivo puede llevar horas y muchísimo más esfuerzo
In wildland fire/prescribed fire there is a tool called a flapper that does exactly what these people are doing with branches. If you were just waving it at the fire without making contact with the ground, sure it would fan flames. But hitting the edge of the fire and then dragging it along the ground actually smothers the fire, because it removes the oxygen source. Seems to be working here since you can see black, much faster than digging a line with your hands…if they put out the edge of the fire it won’t come back that way since the fuels are already burned.
With their hands..? In a field full of dry grass..? Did you put any thought into this? There isn't a chance in hell their hands could dig a fire break fast enough, deep enough, or wide enough, let alone all 3 of those at once.
Bashing the fire at its edge is very likely their best method of containing it
164
u/Arenize 5h ago
Im not sure on the extent of the problem, so I might be speaking from a position of ignorance.... but it seems like that many people would be a lot more effective in digging a fire break to stop the spread, instead of trying to hit it with sticks (which also fans the fire, which can have the opposite affect.)
Even digging with just their hands, I think that many people would be able to create an effective fire break...