Glossary of Wildfire Terms

Backburn: Precautionary fire set downwind of main fire for controlled fuel clearing by "backing" it into the main fire, similar to burnout, below, which occurs adjacent to control line.
Backfire: A fire set along the inner edge of a fireline to consume the fuel in the path of a wildfire and/or change the direction or force of the fire’s convection column.
Bambi bucket: collapsible bucket for lifting and moving water or other fire retardant with a helicopter. (Note: The name was in use many years before the trademark owner claimed it in 1983.)
Barrier: Any obstruction to the spread of fire. Typically an area or strip devoid of combustible fuel.
Base: (1) staging and/or command center location for fire operations; (2) starting location of a fire; (3) base camp: location for eating, sleeping, etc., near staging or command center.
Berm: Soil heaped on the downhill side of a traversing fireline below a fire, to trap rolling firebrands.
Blackline: A condition where no combustible fuels remain between the fireline and the main fire.
Blowup: Sudden increase in fireline intensity or rate of spread of a fire sufficient to preclude direct control or to upset existing suppression plans. Often accompanied by violent convection and may have other characteristics of a firestorm.
Boise Interagency Fire Center (BIFC): The former name of the National Interagency Fire Center (see below); often pronounced as "biff-see".
Bone yard: A noun meaning an area scraped to mineral soil for safe handling of smoldering materials; a verb meaning systematic mop-up of smoldering materials by scraping off embers, placing materials into the bone yard area.
Booster hose, booster pump, booster reel: small solid hose on a reel connected to a small pump fitted to a water tank on a vehicle. Booster pump also refers to pump in a relay series for pumping uphill beyond the lift of the previous pump.
Brush blade: Rake attachment for cutting or ripping brush and roots out of a fireline.
Brush hook: Cutting tool used to clear brush, longer than a machete, usually with a heavy, solid,curved blade bolted to the end of an arm's-length handle.
Brush truck: Small fire truck outfitted for wildland fire. Also called a "Type 6 Engine."
Bump up: To move to another location. Can refer to anything from moving to another location on a fireline, to an entire crew moving to another fire. "Bump back" means to return to your previous location. In the "bump" system of fireline construction, each firefighter works on a small piece of fireline with his or her tool, perhaps slowly walking as the line progresses, until a completed portion of line is encountered. Then the call to "bump up!" is heard, and everyone ahead of the caller skips ahead one or more positions, leaving the unfinished fireline for those coming up behind. This is known as the bump up method or leapfrog method.
Burning index: relative measure of fire-control difficulty; doubling the index means twice the effort may be needed to control the fire (e.g., wind shift, heavier fuel load, etc.).
Burn out: Setting fire inside a control line to consume fuel between the edge of the fire and the control line.
Burning period: The part of each 24-hour period when fires spread most rapidly; typically from 10:00 AM to sundown.
Bushfire: A bushfire is a wildfire that occurs in the forests, scrubs, woodlands or grasslands of Australia or New Zealand.