Aircraft
Fixed‐wing aircraft capable of dropping fire retardant.
Airtanker
Fire burning on the ground with a low flame and spreading slowly.
Creeping
Layer of decomposing organic materials lying just below the litter layer of freshly fallen twigs, needles and leaves, and just above the bare, mineral soil.
Duff
Inclusive term for all constructed or natural fire barriers — including swaths of fire retardant — used to control a fire.
Control Line
Clothing and equipment designed to keep wildland firefighters safe. Includes but isn’t limited to 8‐inch high leather boots, fire shelter, hard hat, goggles, ear plugs, Nomex pants and shirt and leather gloves.
Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE)
Main location for parking, fueling, maintaining and loading helicopters.
Helibase
Movement of fire through the tops of trees and shrubs, usually independent of the surface fire.
Crowning
Standing dead tree or part of a dead tree.
Snag
All work related to extinguishing or containing a fire.
Suppression
Lookout, Communication, Escape Route, Safety Zone; acronym used to describe the elements of a safety system used by wildland firefighters to routinely assess their current situation.
LCES
Large helicopter capable of dropping water via a bucket or tank in its belly; generally capable of carrying 800 to 1,000 gallons of water, though some can carry up to 3,000 gallons.
Heavy Helicopter - (Type 1)
Parts of a fire's perimeter that are roughly parallel to the main direction of spread.
Flanks of a Fire
Top layer of the forest or grassland floor, composed of loose debris of dead sticks, branches, twigs and recently fallen leaves or needles.
Litter
Least aggressive wildfire suppression strategy; typically allows the wildfire to burn itself out within established, natural boundaries such as rocky ridges, streams or roads under prevailing conditions.
Confine a Fire
Large area that is cleared of flammable materials, giving firefighters a place to escape to if a wildfire breaks through the control line.
Safety Zone
Target area for air tankers, helitankers and cargo dropping.
Drop Zone
Side of fire with the fastest rate of spread.
Head of Fire
Loose litter on the soil surface, normally consisting of fallen leaves or needles, twigs, bark, cones and small branches. Can be interspersed with grasses, forbs, low and medium shrubs, tree seedlings, heavier branches, downed logs and stumps.
Surface Fuels
Line of water or water and retardant sprayed along the ground to serve as a temporary control line to stop a low intensity fire.
Wet Line
Situation in which crews are caught unexpectedly in a life‐threatening position with planned escape routes or safety zones compromised, likely because of fire behavior.
Entrapment
Aircraft that directs tactical deployment of airtankers. Makes initial dry run over a targeted area to check wind and smoke conditions and topography, and then leads airtankers to their targets and supervises their drops.
Lead Plane
Fire burning in a previously burned area. Generally, fire already has swept through, but the area still contains flammable fuels that ignite when conditions are favorable.
Reburn
Fuels that carry fire from the ground to the tree tops, often leading to crowning.
Ladder Fuels
When a fire is _______, it is surrounded by a fuel break. This break can include natural barriers as well as line constructed manually or mechanically. The fire is not extinguished at this point.
Contained
Planned route allowing firefighters safe passage to a designated safety zone. When ______ deviate from a defined, physical path, they should be clearly flagged.
Escape Route