The steep forested slope on the west side of Gyro Park is carpeted with a tangle of dry wood and other debris – the perfect wildfire fuel. The City of Nelson’s wildfire resilience program co-ordinator Rob Leland explained that the city is piloting a unique way of removing wildfire fuel in steep urban areas. …Leland showed media and visitors an unusual remote controlled tractor designed to operate safely with a small footprint on steep terrain. It is capable of chipping woody materials in place and transporting the chips out of the treatment area for disposal off-site. The owner of the machine, contractor Joern Wingender of Flow State Adapations, said it is like a Swiss army knife: it’s a motor on tracks that can have various tools, including a chipper or a mulcher attached to it. Using a remote-controlled winch, it can drag bunched debris out of a hard-to-reach location.