Bulldozer drivers cut 305 miles of fire lines through scenic forest land last year in a desperate bid to stop a massive wildfire's advance on a Northern California city, an effort an environmentalist group said Thursday was largely ineffective.
The Oregon-based Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics & Ecology organization released a report detailing bulldozer use during the July wildfire that killed eight people and destroyed 1,000 homes in and around Redding. One dozer driver died and another was seriously hurt.
The report concluded that flying embers driving the fire rendered almost useless the bulldozers' cutting of "catlines" to clear trees and vegetation in its path. "Numerous catlines were carved into the hills and ridgelines north, south and west of the city trying to stop the spread of the fire, but almost all of them were breached by flying embers that were lofted in hot, dry, fast-moving winds that spread flames over the catlines," the report said.