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Safety Zones / Escape |
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Bulldozers are an important fire-fighting tool. When dozers are sent out to create firebreaks, they may not have adequate directions on how to get to the proper location quickly and safely. This creates a potentially dangerous situation for the dozer operator. TimberMark™ can be used in these situations to paint a line for the dozer to follow to ensure it arrives safely at the right location, without unnecessary delays. |
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Often air-tankers will “pre-treat” lines in order to suppress wildfires. TimberMark™ can be utilized to visibly mark “pre-treat” drop locations based on instructions from an air-attack officer. By using TimberMark™, the air-attack officer’s radio time would be significantly reduced, thereby giving that person more time to monitor aircraft traffic and the fire’s progress. |
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During “mop-up” stages of the fire, aircraft are dispatched to locations where heat is detected (visually or with infrared cameras) to assist in putting “hot spots” out. TimberMark™ can be used to delineate and mark “hot spots” to help both ground crews and aircraft in “hot spot” suppression.
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Where timber salvage projects are necessary for the removal of trees that are dead, dying, or threatened by wildfire, insects, diseases, and other natural disasters; rapid action is necessary to maximize timber value. Due to TimberMark™’s high rate of productivity, large tracts of land can be delineated and marked in a short time span. This not only maximizes timber values and improves forest health, it eliminates some of the important, yet time-consuming, laborious tasks that will then allow the project manager to focus on the higher priority issues. Soil Erosion Control The most immediate consequence of fire is the potential for soil erosion. It is often necessary for landowners to take quick action to minimize erosion once it's safe to return to the site. TimberMark™ can provide the necessary assistance for ground crews and aircraft (i.e. aerial mulching or granular erosion product; PAM-12) with a clearly marked line on the ground to ensure that soil stabilization efforts are carried out quickly and effectively.
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TimberMark™ can transmit real-time differentially corrected GPS
data utilizing TimberLink, an optional onboard
telemetry system. This telemetry system transmits the location of TimberMark™ along with airspeed, direction and the
location of each paint mark delivered with sub-meter accuracy. This
information is sent to a ground platform that allows the end user to view and
print up-to-date information as it happens! This system is designed to work with certain aircraft DGPS guidance systems. Having compatibility between these two systems allows data to flow not only from the aircraft to ground but, it also has the ability to go from the ground back to the aircraft. This information can be uploaded back into the aircraft’s guidance system and then painted using TimberLink. Utilizing TimberLink to assist with fighting forest fires or as a tool in post-fire projects can be a significant improvement upon the current methods employed today.
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2002 Biscuit Post-Fire Timber Salvage Layout, Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon - USFS |
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[photogallery/photo00011976/real.htm] |
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Site delineation for post 1992 fire timber recovery operations.