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Firefighters often refer to standing, weakened trees as hazard trees or snags. These two terms refer to trees with structural defects that make them more likely to fall in whole or in part. 

After a fire has moved through an area, roots and other components of a tree may have been affected, weakening the tree and making it more likely to unexpectedly fall. These fire-weakened trees present a significant danger to firefighters working in an area. Strong or gusty winds from storm cells can cause a hazard tree to easily topple, as can a vertical down wash of air (known as rotor wash) from helicopters or water and retardant drops during suppression operations.

Not only do firefighters need to use caution working in an area with standing, dead trees, so do people recreating in an area with multiple burned trees.

To address this, a standard practice is for firefighters to move into a recently burned area, assess trees and identify those that pose the greatest risk, and assign qualified sawyers to fell the trees to improve safety. Firefighters maintain a heightened sense of awareness when working around trees that present a fall risk, use lookouts, and plan quick and safe escape routes if necessary.

The photo sequence below shows a Horseshoe Meadow firefighter felling a burned tree behind the corrals in the Elk Fork Campground for safety mitigation on Saturday, August 11. (Note; Due to the size the photos, each may take a few seconds to load.)

• Falling Tree Sequence, Photo 1
   
• Falling Tree Sequence, Photo 2
   
• Falling Tree Sequence, Photo 3