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DriptorchA driptorch is a tool used in wildland firefighting, controlled burning, and other forestry applications to intentionally ignite fires. The driptorch consists of a canister for holding fuel with a handle attached to the side, a spout with a loop to prevent fire from entering the fuel canister, a breather valve to allow air into the canister while fuel is exiting through the spout, and a wick from which flaming fuel is dropped to the ground. The wick is ignited and allows the fire to be directed as needed. The spout and wick can be secured upside down inside the canister for storage or transport. Typically the fuel used is a mixture of gasoline and diesel. Variations of the driptorch can be attached to off road vehicles to ignite a fire while driving slowly along the ignition line (see a photo of this in controlled burn). Another variant of the driptorch is the helitorch, which is attached to a helicopter and is used to ignite fire from the air. The need for intentional ignition of backfires is a common firefighting tactic. A backfire (also called backing fire) is a smaller fire ignited along a control line ahead of the main fire. The intent is to create a fire which moves in the opposite direction as the main fire is moving, clearing fuels along the way and allowing the main fire to burn itself out well before it reaches the control line. See: Glossary of wildland fire terms. In forest and prairie management, the driptorch is the most common tool used to ignite prescribed burns, which are used to remove excess fuel buildup or to re-create natural cycles of fire in an ecosystem. Other tools which can also be used for this purpose include the fusee, a pyrotechnic device similar to a road flare.
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