Wildfire Knowledge Graph · Operations
A strip of ground from which fuels have been removed or disturbed by hand tools to create or strengthen a control line.
In plain language
A strip of ground from which fuels have been removed or disturbed by hand tools to create or strengthen a control line.
Why it matters
Handline is useful because it separates one specific part of wildfire behaviour, exposure, operations or evidence from nearby concepts that can otherwise be mixed together.
What is a handline in wildland fire?
Handline is fireline constructed with hand tools. In wildfire suppression, crews remove or disturb combustible material down to mineral soil so the line can function as part of a containment or control system.
The key distinction is the construction method. A handline is built manually. A dozer line is built with a bulldozer blade. Both are types of fireline.
Handline vs fireline vs control line
- Handline: fireline constructed with hand tools.
- Dozer line: fireline constructed mechanically with a dozer blade.
- Fireline: the portion of a containment or control line scraped or dug to mineral soil.
- Control line: the broader system of constructed or natural barriers used to control a fire.
Handline is especially relevant where terrain, access, vegetation or tactical objectives make heavy equipment unsuitable or unavailable. The term describes how the line was built; it does not by itself say whether the line will hold under changing fire behavior.
Official source: NWCG Glossary — Handline.
For the side-by-side terminology, see Dozer Line vs Handline vs Fireline.