Antihorse Prescribed Fire Drip Torch Burn Injury 2022

The Antihorse Prescribed Fire, ignited on March 20 and March 27, covered approximately 2,700 acres of Black Hills National Forest lands in South Dakota. Just prior to ignitions completing at around 1650, an Engine Boss was utilizing a drip torch to burn out remaining islands of grass along the highway but believed the torch contained bad fuel. He removed the torch’s cap and attempted to pour out its remaining fuel. When doing so, flames from a nearby fuel source ignited the drip torch fuel. A crewmember, standing by the engine, grabbed the charged hardline and extinguished the fire on the pant leg. An EMT responded to the scene and noticed a small burn to the crux of the knee and a half-dollar-sized blister below the knee on the inside of the calf.

Burn Injury, Prescribed Fire, Firing, RLS