SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — As crews continue fighting the wildfires in Wears Valley and Seymour, we have heard a lot of firefighting terms, and it can be confusing.
What's the difference between contained and controlled?
What does it mean when crews are sizing up or mopping up?
Here are some common terms to know from the U.S. Forest Service.
Size-up means evaluating a fire to determine a course of action.
Fuel break means removing materials that could catch on fire in an area to prevent the fire's ability to spread.
Containment or containing a fire means a "fuel beak around a fire has been completed." When a fire is 100% contained, firefighters have managed to get a line completely around its perimeter. It does not mean the fire within the line is extinguished. Nor does it mean the fire does not have a chance of spreading past a containment line.
Hotspot means an "active part of a fire."
Mop-up means making a fire safe or reducing leftover smoke after the fire has been controlled "by extinguishing or removing burning material along or near the control line, felling snags, or moving logs so they won't roll downhill."
Control a fire means the fire is completely extinguished.