V is for Vista Clearing

Nothing screamed spring like mud, wildflowers, and the sound of chainsaws first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, not all park visitors were not as welcoming of the work required to keep Piston Peaks a safe and welcoming place. One of these visitors was currently chained to a tree in a particularly popular scenic overlook...and after chewing out his smokejumpers, this visitor was now the problem of one Chief Blade Ranger.

"Ma'am, you do know that the tree you have chosen to chain yourself is dead, right?" Blade sighed as he eyed the snag that apparently just had to be 'saved' from the smokejumper's blade. At one point, it had been a magnificent spruce, but rain, wind, and gravity had slowly eroded the soil from around its roots. Then it had been infected with bark beetles last summer, which had been the last straw for the poor tree, which had died sometime during the winter. Now with brown needles, the tree was a fire hazard, though as Blade watched it sway, he suspected that the tree would probably come tumbling down before it had a chance to burn.

"You can't cut down trees!" The vehicle shouted back as though the Chief's words had not registered. "This is a National Park! What you are doing here is criminal!"

Then a gust of wind hit, and things went from bad to worse. Listening to the way that the tree creaked was raised Blade's level of concern. It was making the distinctive screeching noise could only mean one thing. He made eye contact with Pinecone, and it was clear that their team's resident tree expert was hearing the exact same thing. That tree was unstable and having a car chained was only making the situation worse. The nature of the problem now evident, Dynamite and her team were already powering into action, anchoring ropes to the rocks, leaving Blade to try to keep the vehicle as still as possible.

"Ma'am…" Blade started to speak but stopped by a splintering noise caused by roots snapping. They had run out of time. The tree was headed off a cliff and Blade didn't even waste a single moment thinking as he deployed his hoist. The well-placed hook managed to snag the car's axel just as it started to be pulled down the slope towards the abyss.

For about a millisecond, the Chief thought that he had successfully averted disaster. His hoist hummed with the force and pain of the load he carried, but it held. Then his own wheels started to slide down the slope. His own bulk was not enough to stop the combined weight of the car and the tree trying to head over the cliff. It was only going to be a matter of seconds before they dragged him over…and he wouldn't survive that fall. Then a new pain hit him with the pain of an Avalanche…or more properly, with the pain of a 'Pinecone.' Pinecone had latched onto his tail boom using her rake and she wasn't going to let go.

"Avalanche!" Dynamite's voice was danced along the knife's edge of panic and control, but her teammates knew exactly what she was asking for.

"I AM ON IT!" The dozer thundered as he barreled down the slope. He managed just managed to squeeze himself between the car and the edge of the cliff. Placing his blade against the car's back bumper, he reeved his engine and powered uphill. Even with all of his force he was barely making purchase.

By this point the car was screaming bloody murder, both Blade's hoist and tail were in agony, Pinecone was barely holding up against the strain, and Avalanche as nearly about to go over a cliff. They had to cut the amount of weight pulling the team downward, though.

"Okay, Blackout, cut that tree loose!" Dynamite managed to make herself heard of the cacophony.

"Wilco." The smokejumper acknowledged the command as he used the ropes to maneuvers himself over the side of the cliff.

Moments later, his saw buried itself deep into the tree. Everything hung there in a balance for a brief eternity. Then a massive snap echoed across the valley and the downward force of the tree suddenly disappeared. Blade found the strain on his hoist disappear even he was felt himself being dragged uphill by Pinecone. Avalanche practically catapulted the car uphill into a picnic table, which was quashed under their combined weights.

"Avalanche, I need you to retrieve Blackout!" Dynamite continued to yell out orders from where she was manning the place where the smokejumper's safety ropes were anchored to the rock. "Drip, first aid kit now!"

Blade didn't realize just how badly he was shaking until Pinecone released her hold on his tail, parked herself in front of his nose, and started to spout out the concussion checklist. The Air Attack Chief answered each question halfheartedly as he watched Avalanche put his weight into reeling in an unconscious Blackout back to safety.

"Windlifter is on his way. We are sending Blackout back to base first, but have already let Maru know that you will be in the second load." Dynamite took a moment to assure him, before taking the first aid kit from Drip and heading to work on her downed teammate.

Blade settled in for the weight, when a tug on his hoist made him choke out a cry of pain. A moment later, he was staring down a car that didn't have enough common sense to stay in one place. Laughable, she had actually recovered enough to start screaming about suing them…Blade was about to give her an honest piece of his mind, but it turned out Drip had discovered an even better piece of revenge.

"She was filming the entire thing!" The little skidsteer announced while proudly lifting the offending camera into the air.

"That is my camera!" The car actually tried to launch herself at Drip, only to realize that she was still tangled in Blade's hoist. "You have to give it back to me now!"

"No, Ma'am, that is evidence and will be given to the relevant authorities." Dynamite sighed as she looked up from where she was working to patch up Blackout. When the car continued to protest, the smokejumper boss glanced over to the second-largest member of the team. "Pinecone?"

"I will take care of it." She sighed, as she latched her tow hook to the car's bumper and physically dragged her up towards the overlook turnoff. The car protested, but Pinecone was not having any of that. "Ma'am, pardon my French, but 'Shut the Ford Up'!"

This left the members of the Air Attack Team in the chaos of what once had been a pristine scenic overlook. Sitting in the wreckage, Blade knew two things were certain…Windlifter was going to have to give him a ride back to base and Maru was going to be pissed.

Term- Vista Clearing- The removal of brush, trees, or other growth to maintain the view at a given vista point. This includes keeping the vegetation maintained around designated overlooks, clearing trees that are encroaching on meadows, and creating openings in the forest to allow visitors to observe the scale of the landscape around them. When possible, rangers target vista clearing to locations that have the greatest historical or enjoyment value. They also will target the removal of non-native vegetation or the removal of native vegetation.