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As we start showing more containment on the Camp Creek Fire — indicated by a black line along the perimeter of the map — you may begin reading the phrase “mop up” in our daily updates or hearing it mentioned in our recorded videos. Mop up refers to a stage of firefighting to help remove any remaining heat along a containment line. 

When you properly put out a campfire, you are essentially mopping up. Smokey Bear and fire prevention officers let people know they need to do more than just put water on a campfire to extinguish it. Instead, campers are instructed to pour water on the remaining ash and debris, stir it in, and repeat the process until there is no heat remaining. This is the same process firefighters use on a much larger scale.

Crews use a variety of tools and water sources to patrol the outer edge of the fire, working their way farther into the burned area to check for any heat sources that could produce or blow embers outside of the containment line. A nearby engine can serve as a water source, or a small portable pump can draw water from an adjacent pond or creek. Firefighters drag hoses through the area, feeling for heat, breaking up burned logs, and wetting any vegetation or ash that still feels hot. They also may carry a specialized backpack that can hold five gallons of water and has a small sprayer attached. They check tree stumps for heat, break up or trench logs that could roll outside the containment line, and stir and drown any hot areas that are still smoking. Sawyers may even fell snags or trees because of the danger they may topple and spread heat.

Mop up can last for days after the last active flames along the control line have died down. While completely extinguishing all material burning within the entire fire’s interior is impractical on large fires, firefighters instead focus on an area within a specified distance from the control line.