Prepare for using fire to clear land

[rcrcomputing]

Any thoughts on preparing an acre full of dead stuff and tall grasses before lighting a match?
Kinda wondering if the fire department might want to send a truck to watch....

 

[RonR]

I think I'd check with the fire dept first. They might have a burn permit requirement.

Any way to till around the outter perimeter to keep from burning the neighboring property?

ron

 

[edski]

Start small with wide fire breaks, and keep it under control.
or...
Litter the place with beer cans, used condoms, etc., let 'er rip, and blame the punk kids down the road. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[woodchuckie]

If there's any wind start the fire so the wind blows against the fire and not in the direction the fire is going. A bare dirt fire lane all the way around will really help. In Alabama if you burn more than an acre a permit is required from the forestry dept.

 

[RobertN]

I'd have a little talk with the FD. If your little burn gets out of control, you will be held civilly and criminally liable..., especially if it escapes to other properties...

Sometimes, the FD or Forestry Dept will take things like this on, to use as a training burn... You get your stuff taken care of, and they get to train the new guys, and refresh thier skills in apparatus, tools, ect.

 

[SPIKER]

I mow fire breaks if passable and rake / trim stuff from under trees if passable too. get many people rakes shovels and only burn on calm days that have rain on the way... takes some planning but will save some trouble too. also follow like others said call & find out about permits and if fire dept SHOULD or could be on hand. sometimes it does not cost much if it is a volunteer dept.

start small burn so wind is blowing fire back at where it was already burnt. I use mu BOX BLADE and cut sections out and knowked down some HIGH stuff first too.. use one person on each end of a 20' or less fire line don't let it get too spread out or behind you or the assistants. keep tractor running with sand or dirt in the bucket full and loose if stuff gets out of hand also a water tank is handy to knock back fire from under trees if it gets too close.

MarkM

 

[penokee]

If any wind, have someone checking for sparks/embers spotting ahead of the fire. Mop up later so the fire is dead out. Controlled Burns have been know to get away, so watch the weather, have extra friends/relatives around with shovels and rakes and chk the next day so nothing is burning in the ground - roots,etc. Good friend of mine was given an early retirement because a Controlled Burn got away and some private property burned up. May want to chk with your local State DNR, etc, for best burning conditions - they monitor humidity, etc. Previous comments are all good advice.
penokee /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[rcrcomputing]

I'd like to thank all of you for the good advise. Some are logical, some I had not thought of. I'm calling the volunteer fire department tomarrow.. Will report on how it goes. I've a heavey respect for tall grass fires... To play around, I picked an isolated spot today. Grass 4 1/2 foot tall flames almost twice it's height and scares the heck out of me.. And it burns really fast.