On the afternoon of May 1, 2006 six Penn State School of Forest Resources students volunteered to assist in the suppression of the 437 acre Treaster Kettle Wildfire which could be smelled and seen from the University Park Campus. Starting at 5:00 PM on May 1st a squad of five SFR students under the supervision of Brent Harding, SFR Forester and Wildland Fire Fighter Trainee I, started constructing handline on the fire's right flank. The student squad scratched and raked an approximately 36" wide swath of bare soil to provide a break in the surface fuels. Constructing the break in fuel (fireline) was no easy task due to the forest's steep terrain, surface rock, heath vegetation and downed woody debris. The objective being to eventually tie the hand line into a dozerline being constructed from the north heading south. Once the two lines were connected the fire would have a break in the surface fuels outside of its current perimeter. As the student squad worked through the evening next to local volunteer fire departments and PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry personnel the eastern front of the fire gradually crept toward the developing handline. Students were able to view air operations first hand as helicopters and fixed wing aircraft flew overhead. As the sun set, down slope winds fanned the flames and the creeping fire quickly turned into a running surface fire fueled by preheated mountain laurel, dry downed oak logs and leaves. Flame lengths quickly increased from a few feet to 30'+. As darkness fell, the squad turned on their headlamps and retreated upslope to the south as the fire burnt across the fireline. The flare up provided a break in the arduous activity and gave the students the opportunity to view wildfire behavior first hand. Several of the squad commented on how valuable the experience was and also how it reinforced what they had been taught by Drs. Myers and Kaye in "Wildland Fire Management". The dark conditions and the threat of falling dead and burning snags forced the crew off the fire shortly after 10:00 PM. One other SFR student spent the evening and night of May 1st working on the fire's left flank under the supervision of a Mifflin County volunteer squad. She participated in handline construction and burn out operations.

On the morning of May 2nd two SFR students under the supervision of Brent Harding reported for the morning operations briefing. The partial PSU squad was asked to use their knowledge of GPS to traverse the fire's perimeter to determine an acreage and perimeter. The squad spent several hours walking the perimeter collecting GPS data. Once the traverse was completed the squad created GIS maps and delivered them back to Incident Command at the Boalsburg Fire Department.

All the PSU SFR student wildland firefighters have at least a federal wildland firefighter II qualification. The PSU Forestland Management Office in cooperation with the School of Forest Resources is attempting to increase the students' exposure to fires (prescribed and wild) and state and federal training.

Visit this website to view photos and read news report of the fire:

http://www.alphafire.com/content/view/1198/28/

Contact Brent Harding for information on wildland firefighter training.