The operations of the Silver City BAER Team continue, with the Emory Pass overlook as a beehive of activities. A team of workers prepares the empy nets for straw to be dropped into them and then "fluffed" so the straw scatters evenly. Two or three helicopters go back and forth, brining back empty nets to be refilled. When the empty one is dropped, the attachments from the helicopter are re-attached to a full net, which, as the helo lifts off, gathers up and off the helicopter goes to drop the straw. According the Forest Service officials, a helicopter can make about 40 drops of the fluffed three bales of hay before refueling. It is anticipated that the operations will be completed over the weekend and the road re-opened Monday, Aug. 5, but rain could slow the operations down. When the straw is wet, the helicopters can carry less.
Photos by Mary Alice Murphy
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
Balels of straw fill up half the roadway.
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
top of the mountain beyond Emory Pass where mulching has taken place
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
contrast of mulched portions at the top and burned, and unmulched parts of the forest at the bottom
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
helicopter carries a full load of about three bales of straw to drop on burned areas
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
blue, green, yellow and black
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
a net full of straw lifts off
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
men scurry around to prepare a net for the next piles of straw, while a skid steer "fluffs" the straw on the right rear
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
fluffing straw
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
helicopter hovers
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
the net full of straw attached to the previous helicopter
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
lifting the filled net
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
flying northward toward the northern section of the fire
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
trucks arrive with full loads of hay
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
another spot where hay lines the roadway, with the mulched area in the background
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
carrying straw to the drop off point.
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
looking beyond Emory Pass over the burned and mulched areas with the roadway below
Silver Fire BAER Team mulching operations
returning with an empty net
