A dozen local landowners learned how to safely burn a slash pile and clear brush and trees using a chain saw.<\/p>\n
Firewise manager Rebecca Samulski gave several tips on burn piles. First off, check local regulations and notify dispatch of your intent to burn at 565-8411. Get it started early in the morning before winds pick up, stand by with water and shovels, and don\u2019t make the pile too big.<\/p>\n
\u201cStart with a campfire-size, and keep feeding it from a bigger pile,\u201d Samulski said. \u201cStacking brush to burn takes practice; lay it all in one direction with stumps on one end.\u201d<\/p>\n
One option is to dig a hole and bury slash. Or use the lop-and-scatter method to spread out debris over a large area.<\/p>\n
Jon Westrup, of Fire Smart, gave a demonstration of safe sawing.<\/p>\n
Chain saw injuries are common, but are avoidable with proper training, equipment and handling.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe aware of your surroundings, approach with a safety mindset,\u201d he said. \u201cMost accidents are operator error.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also:<\/p>\n
Engage the chain break, which will stop the chain when moving brush or will engage if the saw gets too close to your body.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t cut with the tip, to avoid kickback.<\/p>\n
They don\u2019t make left-handed chain saws, so lefties must hold the saw with their right hand.<\/p>\n
Never drop start a chain saw; start it on the ground or while holding between knees.<\/p>\n
Use chaps, eye and ear protection, and keep the chain properly tightened and sharpened.<\/p>\n
Low ethanol fuel is ideal for chainsaws.<\/p>\n
Westrup showed how to safely cut down a tree. First, walk around the tree and asses potential hazards. Avoid cutting down trees in windy conditions. Limb the tree and determine which way you want it to fall.<\/p>\n
Make a back cut that will act as a hinge to control the direction of the fall when the face cut is made.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake sure you have an escape route planned out when the tree goes down,\u201d Westrup said.<\/p>\n
For more information go to http:\/\/www.southwestcoloradofires.org\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A dozen local landowners learned how to safely burn a slash pile and clear brush and trees using a chain saw. Firewise manager Rebecca Samulski gave several tips on burn piles. First off, check local regulations and notify dispatch of your intent to burn at 565-8411. Get it started early in the morning before winds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[21,44,13],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-108315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-cortez","tag-dolores","tag-frontpage-lead"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108315"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=108315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}