Xinhua News Agency, Xi'an, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Guardians of the mountains and forests during the Spring Festival.
Xinhua News Agency reporters Ye Haoming and Hu Weijie.
Son, can you come back for the Chinese New Year this year? ”
Mom and Dad, I have a task this year to continue to patrol the forest. ”
Putting down his phone and looking at the large forest outside the window, Yang Bingbing fell into memory.
As a member of the Shaanxi mobile team of the National Fire and Rescue Administration, on November 30, 2023, Yang Bingbing set off with the team to Ankang City, Shaanxi Province, to start a six-month garrison mission. This year is his 15th year in the firefighting team, and in between, he has been sticking to his post and guarding the mountains and forests for 14 Spring Festivals.
During the Spring Festival, thousands of lights are reunited, but the forest firefighters are highly nervous and waiting for the day.
The garrison point of the team was the Qinling Mountains, which is known as the dividing line between the north and the south. At this time, it is the dry season of winter, the runoff of mountain streams is small, and the soil and rock humidity is low. The Qinling Mountains are in a critical period of fire prevention. To this end, the Ankang garrison detachment has formulated a detailed Spring Festival patrol plan, and the team composed of forest rangers and firefighters frequently travels to and from forest areas and scenic spots with heavy fire prevention tasks and large personnel flow.
Forest firefighters patrol the forest area. (Photo courtesy of Gansu Provincial Forest Fire Brigade).
A few days before the Spring Festival, a team of the Ankang garrison detachment patrolled the Phoenix Mountain Forest Farm in the Qinling Mountains. In this forest farm with an area of about 19,800 acres and a forest coverage rate of more than 85%, the yellow fallen leaves are mixed together, which makes it more difficult for firefighters to identify the source of the fire. The slope of more than 45 degrees Celsius is covered with vines, and the soil and rocks are made slippery due to the dew caused by the temperature difference between day and night.
Patrol, generally with 9 people as a team. The two firefighters at the front of the line are armed with a combination of tools and become "pioneers", using knives and axes to carve out a path forward. In the middle are four wind turbine drivers, who carry a huge fan of more than 10 kilograms, which can not only be used to extinguish fires, but also cool down firefighters in the fire. They were followed by two water gunners, carrying water bags and holding water guns, who were an important part of the firefighting mission. The firefighter at the end of the team has a different nature of work from the rest of the team - one hand holds an oil drum and the other hand a igniter, called "igniter".
One of the methods of fire fighting in the mountains and forests is to 'fight fire with fire', that is, to burn a piece of white ground in advance in the direction of the mountain fire to prevent the spread of the fire, or use reverse fire to hedge against the incoming fire to extinguish the fire. Wu Yao, head of the Ankang garrison detachment, told reporters.
Forest firefighting, because of its difficulty, every time extinguishing a fire is like a war, so forest firefighters will also call it "fire". As a "veteran" who has already had dozens of firefighting experience, Yang Bingbing believes that in addition to skills and tactics, experience is also very important in forest firefighting. "There are experiences that can save lives at critical moments. ”
Forest firefighters use machetes to carve a path forward. (Photo courtesy of Gansu Provincial Forest Fire Brigade).
On one occasion, when a fire was lit up, wildfires struck from all directions, and we heard a different sound from the woods than usual, so we quickly evacuated. After a while, flames surrounded the spot where they had just stood. Recalling the scene at that time, Yang Bingbing still has palpitations.
Dangerous firefighting operations, lonely garrison life, and in addition to this, the team members also have to face hard daily work.
In the Ankang garrison detachment, every time the team members go out to patrol, they have to spend a day's work, leaving at about 8 o'clock in the morning and returning to the camp at nearly 6 o'clock in the evening. In the process of patrolling, a few steamed buns and a pack of fast food are often a lunch. In addition, during the high fire period, the team members also incarnated as "science popularizers" and "fire prevention explainers", went to the village to carry out fire prevention publicity. By setting up an interactive experience area, the parameters and uses of various types of fire extinguishing equipment are explained to the people who come to visit, and the emergency self-rescue knowledge and forest fire prevention knowledge are widely publicized in an all-round and multi-angle manner.
On the evening of the thirtieth day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, the station organized a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, and some of the team members' families were also invited to the team for a reunion. Everyone was eating dumplings and watching the Spring Festival Gala.
Yang Bingbing and his wife were playing *** When he heard his wife say that he had a child in a few months, his eyes turned red.
Forest firefighters are helping each other through the bush. (Photo courtesy of Gansu Provincial Forest Fire Brigade).
Wu Yao has not been home for more than 6 years, and after the end of the garrison this time, he has to take time to go back to his hometown to do marriage. "I've been running long-distance love for many years, and I should give my lover an explanation. Wu Yao said with a smile.
Nestled in the mountains and accompanied by the mountains, this group of cutest forest firefighters is known as the "Guardians of the Mountains" by the locals. During the Spring Festival, in the town near the camp where the team members are located, every household is decorated with lights, which is particularly lively and festive, which is in stark contrast to the silent Qinling Mountains not far away. In order to protect the hard-won tranquility, this group of mountain and forest guards in the Qinling Mountains are always ready to ......