turnkey4099
Elite Member
our fresh piles of wood chips, one large utility truck's worth (maybe 5'tall, 8'wide, 12' long) would smoke, and be uncomfortably hot inside. This in a mild climate, with plenty of water, and never covered.
I don't think you'd need too many variables 'worse' to get ignition: significantly hotter, drier days (it never got above 90, and had humidity), perhaps a perfect balance of material & moisture in the pile, etc. Or especially a pile twice the size.
For oddity. Highway department used ground up tires as fill over a culvert. About a year later it ignited. Washington state som 30 years ago but I don't recallthe location.