Burn piles
- Thread starter ning
- Start date
When we first moved here we had a guy with a dozer clear a bunch of trees & brush for our barn area and a road. Had a really big slash pile in our meadow; the dozer guy said to call the FD and they'd let us burn it.
Fire guy came out to look at it and gave a thumbs-up - looks great!
Day came to torch it; I'd rented a 3" trash pump and had it read with a suction line into our pond; had an adjustable fire nozzle set up for spraying it down if needed.
Was about to light it and
well
I was just "... this just looks wrong"
My wife and I spent a few hours pulling half of the pile apart (not easy, mostly withe straps and our truck, didn't have a tractor at the time) and making a new pile farther away from the trees that are at the edge of our meadow (by our then-to-be barn pad)
We lit that and MAN were we glad we didn't light the original pile. The flames were HUGE and the slightest breeze was already pulling the flames uncomfortably close to those trees - and that's when we'd relocated the half pile we lit. Occasionally the flames got too scary and we'd spray water over it just to get it to be burning hot instead of trying to incinerate everything in sight. The green grasses nearby lit, of course, despite being completely saturated with water.
Spent the next three days dragging stuff off of the not-yet-burned pile and putting it onto the huge bed of coals, and then finally got sick of it all and lowered our pond level an entire foot by pumping water onto the massive bed of coals to put it all out....
Fire guy came out to look at it and gave a thumbs-up - looks great!
Day came to torch it; I'd rented a 3" trash pump and had it read with a suction line into our pond; had an adjustable fire nozzle set up for spraying it down if needed.
Was about to light it and
well
I was just "... this just looks wrong"
My wife and I spent a few hours pulling half of the pile apart (not easy, mostly withe straps and our truck, didn't have a tractor at the time) and making a new pile farther away from the trees that are at the edge of our meadow (by our then-to-be barn pad)
We lit that and MAN were we glad we didn't light the original pile. The flames were HUGE and the slightest breeze was already pulling the flames uncomfortably close to those trees - and that's when we'd relocated the half pile we lit. Occasionally the flames got too scary and we'd spray water over it just to get it to be burning hot instead of trying to incinerate everything in sight. The green grasses nearby lit, of course, despite being completely saturated with water.
Spent the next three days dragging stuff off of the not-yet-burned pile and putting it onto the huge bed of coals, and then finally got sick of it all and lowered our pond level an entire foot by pumping water onto the massive bed of coals to put it all out....
justman777
Platinum Member
I've burned huge piles in South Texas that easily shot flames 30-40 feet in the air. No permits needed, but I did use a fair amount of common sense. If winds were anything more than 5-6 mph, or the relative humidity was below 40%, it was a big nope for me. I also dug a burn pit 4 feet deep, burned early in the mornings when dew was still on the ground, and kept a hose close by at all times. Never had an issue. Conversely, we were coming home from church one Sunday morning, and had to rescue a few houses from a trash fire started by a neighbor that turned into a grass fire. We were in a burn ban, and winds were coming in at 15+ mph. Not the smartest thing to do. I didn't hear what happened to him after all that.
mhineman
New member
There's an old joke where a lot of those fires and called "White man fires".
The punch line is white man build BIG fire and sit wayyyyy back.
Indian buld little fire sit up close.
The punch line is white man build BIG fire and sit wayyyyy back.
Indian buld little fire sit up close.
jstrick
Member
I love the look of the cat: "Thisss is what happens to my enemies!!! Beware world - I will dominate you!"
LittleBittyBigJohn
Veteran Member
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I've gotten to where fires make me more nervous than they used to. If the pile is dry I usually douse it down with quite a bit of water then light the down wind side. That way the fire has to fight the wind and the water. Takes longer that way but it helps keep the intensity down at least a little bit. I always burn too far from running water to be able to keep a hose nearby. So I typically take several large trash cans full of water, with a bucket in each, and put them around the perimeter far enough away that I can get to them without getting burned but close enough to help. I also usually end up throwing buckets full of water on it when it's burning good to try to keep the intensity down if it's not WAY out in the middle of a field.
HawkinsHollow
Veteran Member
It's about time I burn a couple piles. Have at least 2 to burn.
In NW GA where my property is you can burn October 1st until May 1st , but you are supposed to get a "permit" from an automated system over the phone. Not exactly sure the reason for this, maybe they will not issue the permit if it is too windy or dry. There are some caveats like only supposed to be hand piled (HAHA, right!), no lumber, etc. etc! They cease burn permits in the summer but it is mostly due to air quality than it is because of fire risk.
It is pretty easy to burn safely around here during our permitted burn season.. I usually loosely cover the middle of my medium sized piles with a tarp (so it is not completely saturated) and wait for a nice wet spell. Pull tarp, add accelerant of your choice and light it up!!
In NW GA where my property is you can burn October 1st until May 1st , but you are supposed to get a "permit" from an automated system over the phone. Not exactly sure the reason for this, maybe they will not issue the permit if it is too windy or dry. There are some caveats like only supposed to be hand piled (HAHA, right!), no lumber, etc. etc! They cease burn permits in the summer but it is mostly due to air quality than it is because of fire risk.
It is pretty easy to burn safely around here during our permitted burn season.. I usually loosely cover the middle of my medium sized piles with a tarp (so it is not completely saturated) and wait for a nice wet spell. Pull tarp, add accelerant of your choice and light it up!!
allthebacon
New member
davidbham
New member
I do my burn pile from time to time. I had a fair size tree - maybe 15 in diameter in the pile along with brush and branches. Everything went fine, I left the ashes to burn out overnight. The following weekend, despite a light rain shower during the week, I raked around in the ashes and found some hot spots. No problem, I just left it. I was amazed the following weekend when I checked and still found some smoldering spots after 2 weeks! It really wasn't that big of a fire.
