Two weeks ago I drove to Parque nacional Sierra de San Pedro Mártir in Baja California, Mexico with my girlfriend. The plan was to meet up with a group of people who fight wildfires in the summer, and teach a group of Mexicans how we cut trees safely. But more importantly, this was an opportunity to get to know our neighbors across the border and also learn something from them as well.
I hadn't met anyone else in the group but lucky for me, I'm fluent in Spanish, and they needed more translators so my girlfriend got invited along last minute. This blog post I'll share what I learned during our week in Mexico.
The drive in through the foothills reminded me a lot of the geography that separates Boise from the Northern Rockies, or the East side of Washington or Oregon.
The class started off with everyone together while we went over the basics of chainsaw operation.
Demonstrating the standard position used when operating a chainsaw with the powerhead resting on his left thigh.
The stump we have setup with rebar is to demonstrate the difference in speed between a sharp chainsaw chain and a dull chainsaw chain.
We then broke up into smaller groups and the students practiced putting in face cuts and back cuts into the high stumps we setup. The high stumps are a way for students to practice their cuts without having to cut down as many trees in the process. Rounds from the tree are rolled back on the stump and secured into place with three wedges. Once the rounds are full of facecuts we then cut the rounds into smaller pieces that could easily be split into fire wood by visitors and campers in the park.
As students gained confidence in their ability to put in the cuts to fall a tree they worked with the lead instructors to fall hazard trees in the park that were threatening the safety of campers. Because of the age of the forest, the trees that were available to be cut by students were all giants.
After we finished the falling technique portion of the course, two days were dedicated to going over standard fire suppression techniques used in the United States. The group is discussed how to put in indirect control lines using chainsaws and hand tools to do preventative maintenance combat a wildfire.
The group also worked to build piles as part of research being done by CONAFOR the mexican federal wildland fire management organization. They are studying the effects of heat on the ecosystems in the park.
On the last day of the course the group went down to the foothills and practiced putting in direct line. It was fast and intense work and was over way too fast. After a good workout the group took this photo to remember our time together.
The day after the course ended, the instructors went out and cleaned a few more of the hazard trees in the camp groups. It was a chance to run saws after watching the students do it all week, and to leave the park in a better condition than we found it.
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