Raking fire involves using hand tools like McLeod tools or fire rakes to scrape away leaf litter, pine needles, and brush down to bare mineral soil. Wildland crews use this manual technique to construct a control line ahead of an advancing fire, starving the fire of the ground fuels it needs to spread.
Heard on the job
Grab your tools and start raking fire along the ridge before the wind shifts.
Insider tip
Raking must go down to bare mineral soil. Leaving a thin layer of duff allows the fire to creep across the line.