Field Dispatch #2: Chainsaw Training & Proper Tree Removal

All too recently, the CZU fire burned throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, removing many residents from their home and causing many changes to the surrounding environment. Many of the trees impacted by the fire will need to be removed for trail users to safely pass through the forest again. In preparation for aiding in the removal of these trees, SCMTS partnered up with Ethos Training Solutions to run an introductory chainsaw course for our staff. Ethos is run by retired CAL FIRE battalion chiefs Anthony Anderson and Chris Vasquez who combined have over 25 years of experience in post fire landscape management and chainsaw operations. Our training began at Sunset Beach in Watsonville, where we reviewed safety protocols, ran through proper cutting techniques, and learned how to clean and service our chainsaws.

The next day we took our training to the field to begin learning how brush, limb, and buck trees that had already fallen. Brushing is the removal of dead leaves and small branches, while limbing and bucking focus on getting larger branches and the trunk of the tree into smaller pieces. These techniques help the tree decompose over time and allow for the removal of smaller tree segments from the area. In this class, we focused on building good safety habits and getting used to handling the chainsaw in a wide variety of situations. Those who work with chainsaws are oftentimes referred to as sawyers. More experience helps sawyers avoid getting stuck in a bind, which is where the chainsaw gets pinched between two pieces of wood. Binds happen when either forces in the tree’s tissue or external forces like gravity stop the chain’s movement mid-cut. This can slow down productivity and lead to more injuries if care is not taken to assess what binds will take place before beginning a cut. Once comfortable with these techniques, the crew was ready to begin learning how to fell trees.

When felling a tree, there are a variety of things to be aware of including both environmental and human-caused hazards. Training usually progresses slowly through various levels as one gets more experience and training. Our class only certified our crew to fell trees up to 8 inches in diameter at breast height (DBH) and buck trees up to 12 inches DBH. Breast height is the industry standard from which the size of trees is determined. While these sizes seem small, there is a lot of weight and variability to small trees that make them just as dangerous as certain trees that are far larger in height and mass. Because of this, there is a standard felling procedure that allows fellers to hone their cutting technique and develop a feel for how each cut will react. This procedure uses three different cuts including a horizontal cut, slope cut, and back cut in this order. In the picture below you can see there has been a horizontal cut made closest to the base of the tree. This directs where the tree will fall and is usually made in the direction where a natural lean of the tree is already observed. Next, the slope cut is made at a forty-five degree angle to the horizontal cut and helps the tree break when the back cut is made.

The last cut is the back cut and releases the tree to break free and hinge off the slope and horizontal cut before making contact with the ground. This cut is made two inches above the horizontal cut and is made from behind the tree looking in the direction you plan on falling the tree. In the picture on the left, you can see the chainsaw resting on the back cut. The area between the horizontal cut and the back cut is called the holding wood and is the last remaining wood connecting the tree to the ground before it falls. Observe how the fibers are elongated or pulled from the holding wood.

During our second-to-last day of the training, the entire group was working on perfecting their back cut. The group was working at two locations around the forest under the guidance of the instructors. A good learning experience occurred when one of our crew pinched his bar between the tree and the back cut. This is referred to as the tree ‘sitting back on itself’ and is common even among professional fellers. This real-world example illustrates the importance of learning from trained professionals before trying these techniques on your own. Our instructor, Anthony, was able to get the saw out of the tree and help our team learn from the experience, but it just as easily could have become hazardous and potentially fatal if the procedure was done incorrectly.

The training ended in success with every single staff member passing and receiving their A-level certificate. Most importantly no one was injured and rigorous safety protocols have become ingrained in our new workflow, allowing us to assist in bigger and more complex projects. Our new training also enables us to be better stewards of the mountain range that means so much to us and give back to a community that has experienced intense hardship over the past year. Fire is both a destroyer and giver of new life, helping to bring fresh competition to ecosystems through clearing dead or dying trees. We hope that our work in this beautifully regenerated landscape brings joy to the entire Santa Cruz community.

The SCMTS team is currently available for public or private trail construction or land management projects. If you are a landowner in the Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and Santa Clara County area and are interested in sustainable resource management, please contact SCMTS Trails Director Drew Perkins at [email protected].