What is a Hotshot?

It’s a firefighter who is part of a ~20 person federal handcrew. There are many qualifications and standards that are required to maintain type 1 status for a hotshot crew as opposed to type 2 handcrew status. Standard firefighting tactics used involve the use of chainsaws, hand tools for digging line, drip torches for burning and overweighted uncomfortable backpacks filled with unnecessary things. Lots of hiking, and working close to fire lines are common. Pay is low but learning, fun and wild experiences are fantastic.

What is an ISA Certified Arborist?

ISA stands for International Society of Arboriculture. I straight up copied the rest from the website.

To earn an ISA Certified Arborist®credential, you must be trained and knowledgeable in all aspects of arboriculture. ISA Certified Arborist® have met all requirements to be eligible for the exam, which includes three or more years of full-time, eligible, practical work experience in arboriculture and/or a degree in the field of arboriculture, horticulture, landscape architecture, or forestry from a regionally accredited educational institute. This certification covers a large number of topics giving the candidates flexibility in the arboricultural profession. A code of ethics for ISA Certified Arborists® strengthens the credibility and reliability of the work force. This certification is accredited by the American National Standards Institute, meeting and exceeding ISO 17024.

Does your company have insurance?

Of course! We even have an instagram account. You should check it out.

Do you guys know what you’re doing?

Heck yeah, we do. Besides, all the years we’ve been doing this, working alongside some of the most knowledgeable people in the country, we keep up to date on current and changing research and understandings. This applies not just to fire behavior and how to work with it but also plant and tree health practices as well. We are very well informed on what we do and don’t do, and if we don’t know we’ll tell you we don’t know. Then we’re gonna try and find out!

As for experience it varies a little with each person. Jonny has about 17 years fire experience plus around 6 years in residential tree work and contract forestry. Max has about 10 years fire experience plus 4-5 in residential and federal tree work and contract forestry. Ryan has about 13 years fire experience plus about 4 in residential and contract forestry. Scotty has about 11 years fire experience plus 6 years residential tree work and contract forestry.

Fire mitigation done by chainsaw vs. equipment.

In some respects, it’s almost like sharpening a knife with a rough surface vs a smooth surface. The finish quality is massively apparent. With mechanized equipment you will get it done quicker in most cases but it’s not gonna be pretty for a while. It can’t be done super close to homes because of flying debris. It can’t be done on steep slopes, and it is not very precise.

For example, if you have a beautiful group of oak trees and you wanna cut the ladder fuels out, chainsaw is the best way.

This goes for cutting limbs as well. Tree limbs emit a chemical within the branch collar that allows them to heal and close that wound off efficiently. These cuts should be done with a chainsaw or handsaw, just outside the branch collar, not broken off or shattered with machines. Our trees are already stressed enough with drought, insects and diseases so we should help them out if we can.

Another consideration is soil compaction. If a skid steer is being used I wouldn’t show too much concern but anything larger and running over the ground multiple times through is going to start causing some damage to the soil structure, especially if it’s saturated.

Most contractors that only use equipment, do it that way because it’s easier and not necessarily better. On large projects it may be better or just more practical but probably not around homes.