PLSO The Oregon Surveyor November December 2020

18 Vol. 43, No. 6 The Oregon Surveyor  | Ham learned to drink a lot of water when working in ash, and to carry eye drops and breathing protectors, although you’ll still be likely to hack up ash at the end of the day. Instruments need frequent cleaning and eventually a recalibration due to ash working its way in. Sometimes, post-fire surveying is easier, especially if roads that were overgrown have been plowed for access to fire person - nel. Even so, Ham says you should always make sure someone knows where you are, and never work alone in a burned area. “Just like every survey is a little bit differ - ent and has its own set of variables, each fire is also different,” Ham says. “I call it my ‘white hat’ job since in the old west- erns the good guy usually wore a white hat. I’ve been thanked a lot for helping put out a fire and had folks buy me cof - fee or offer a bag of cookies. However, in surveying no one has ever thanked me for showing them that the true proper- ty line goes through their garage or how far their fence is off line and over on the adjoining property.” But surveying has its own rewards, he says. “Finding evidence of a corner that is need- ed for a survey or looking back down a properly marked line and knowing that I am adding value to the property and perhaps preventing a future boundary dispute is satisfying. The work that we do, which is of immediate need, both in fire and in surveying, has a visible and valuable long-term benefit.”  x Side view of a BT with the PLS washer. If you look closely, you can see new green growth. The forest is beginning to heal, just 6 weeks after it burned. Section Corner guard post with burnt signs. Close up of the post and brass cap. An LSM sign that was scorched but didn’t melt. continued from previous page T Member Spotlight