Ideal Machinery Rentals for Wildfire Emergency Responses

So far this year, the fires in Oregon, Washington and California have burned about 3 million hectares making it the West Coasts worst fire season in the last 70 years.  Thankfully the human death toll has not been very high, but it has destroyed hundreds of structures and caused extreme air pollution threatening health concerns for residents.  From an ecological point of view, the fires have had an impact on wildlife species and their ecosystems.  We can play the blame game and point the finger at climate change or lack of forestry management, either way we’ll let the politicians do that as they’re so good at it.

For us in the machinery rentals industry, we try to look beyond the apocalyptic skies and the smothering smoke, and look into the future.  What can we do to help with the clean-up and begin restoring the torched lands?  Toxins from charred and melted plastics, electronics, and other household materials can contaminate the soil and our water reservoirs.  It will probably be the largest clean-up project of its kind in history.  So let’s take a look at some of our most hard-working machinery rentals ideal for disaster recovery.

Renting a Skid Steer

Because of their light and compact size, skid steer loaders, like a CASE SV280, are ideal as first line of attack in disaster responses.  These tool carriers allow the team to clean up roads for first responders to access homes and victims, as well as carry other gear that’s needed.  They are small, precise and reliable.

Renting a Backhoe

Disaster cleanup is the most common use for backhoe loaders outside of the utilities and construction sector.  “It truly is one of the most versatile pieces of heavy equipment available, whether it’s on a job site, in a disaster response situation or a variety of other applications”, says Ed Brenton, Case CE product marketing manager.  

Compact Track Loaders

If you’re looking for brush-cutting, tree-sawing, site-preparing and clearing the way for a path, the CASE TV370 is an ideal machine with a brush grapple.  This machine is built for high performance, production-level working environments that require strength, power and efficiency.

Dozers

Blading the ground is what this heavy iron is known for.  Dozers remove flammable plant material down to bare soil. Dozers can vary in width and can cut line at a rate of one to eight miles an hour, but typically cut line from one to three miles per hour depending on terrain, vegetation, and conditions. This makes them a valuable resource for any fire emergency response needs.  While the specifications for each dozer type vary, they all include enclosed cabs for operator safety.

Excavators

When safe to do so, heavy-duty excavators can be used to cover or suppress fires with suitable non-flammable material to help prevent wildfires from spreading further.

Wheel Loaders

The wheel loader can move and load large quantities of rock, dirt or other materials quickly and effectively.  It is also used to load dump trucks with debris and other heavy materials as part of the clean-up effort.

The above list is a just a short list of how certain machinery rentals can help in emergency wildfire situations.  There’s an endless list of machines, makes, models, attachments, with different specs that can aid for emergency responses.  These are our communities where we live, we work, our children go to school, and we raise our families.  We are proud to serve an industry that builds infrastructure and we 

support the local businesses and municipalities that help build America.  When we see wildfires destroy our property, our land, and ravaging through the habitats of wildlife and other species it’s very devastating.  As a company who specializes in machinery rentals, we want to provide hardworking equipment you can count on for any disaster relief.  Not only during the incident, using safety methods to help prevent it from spreading any further; but in the aftermath with clean-up efforts as well.  

It’s not all sad, wildfires have a long history of making way for new life. Once the smoke clears, we will see a natural occurrence as the forests begin to regenerate themselves, renewing a nutrient-rich soil and pretty much resetting the clock.  Good thing companies like Sonsray Rentals have a fleet filled with heavy equipment ideal for land-clearing, vegetation management and forestry, all to support our communities and aid in the restoration of our local forests.