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We have been discing our fire breaks, on the first 3 days of the week and burning the next 3 days, we are going to keep it up as long as this good burning weather holds up, we have burned 3500 acres so far and need to burn about 5000 acres more, any one else burning this year??? Rio7

Lots of burning down here, Blue!

Half of the controlled burns are jumping the firebreaks though.

Had one a few miles from the ranch here jump over, and it burned for more than 2 days.

Y'all be careful!

We had one fire break jump, wood rat on fire ran across the fire break and got in the high grass, burned about 5 acres before we got it shut off.

Rio7

It takes permits from the Public Health Department, the fire department and Sheriff office to burn legally here.

I can't imagine setting several hundred acres on fire and hoping to control it.
My ass would be so puckered you could slice doughnuts off of it.

I get nervous burning a small part of the garden off. If it's dry enough to burn, it will spread. If not you can't light it. Five minutes after I strike a fire, the wind always goes nuts.


Good luck to you all, I know it is how you do things, and you control it.

We will be burning 800 acres or so where I hunt, in a few weeks. Mowed low around the edge with any fluff pushed off. Then disc or chisel plow. We then have 4 to 6 people on 4 wheelers with 30 gallon tank water sprayers on them and constantly patrol the edges for any breakthroughs. This will be our 4th year and no problems yet. Unless you want to count the first year when about 1/2 doz fire departments showed up.
Even though we did have burn permits. Put a lot of smoke in the air though and the locals were just not used to that. This is pasture that has grown for 3 to 5 years and we have a regular rotation to get it all every 3 years.

After our 15,00 acre fire three years ago,anyone burning outside would about about 100 neighbors circleling, all the fire trucks in the area arrive, and probably at least 1/2 dozen sheriff cars.

Several controlled burns by Forest Service or BLM have gotten away from them. Not good

We don't just throw a match out in the high grass, we spend from a 3 day's to a week discing our fire breaks and getting ready with all our equipment , all the while watching the weather forecast, when we are ready and we have what I call 80-80-20.

Let me explain, 80 deg. or less---80% humidity---- wind less than 20 mph, we also are very aware of wind direction.

DillonBuck,When it comes to burning if you aren't scared, you aren't thinking, every time we burn it scares the Chit out of me, but we must burn to control the dead wood fuel and cover grasses, and to promote new growth.

There are 3 things ranchers and farmers don't enough of and that's BURN+BURN+BURN Rio7

Burning is better in grass and brush areas.

I'd probably burn my ranch off if I didn't have a huge oak tree population.

Not only are there 10's of thousands of oaks on my place, but thousands are down from the previous drought and the hurricane.

The ensuing fire wold spread and be epic.


Most places that burn here shred at least 60' and disk 30' before looking for the right burn conditions.

We have considered it in the past, but have decided there are better ways to go about such things.

A lot of burning around here though.

About the only burning you ever see around here is when a piece of farm equipment sets a field on fire accidently. We grow a lot of wheat here, and it's combined in June, and soybeans are planted in the wheat stubble. Occasionally, a farmer will burn the wheat stubble, but it's pretty rare unless they're trying to get rid of all the straw so they can plant a late crop of tobacco. I'd probably chit a brick if I had to burn off 100's acres of pastures

We try to burn 3500 to 5000 acres every year but some years we don' get the weather conditions we need to burn and do it right, we have a lot of native seed that won't germinate unless it's burned, if we want good habitat we need to burn, then we need rain, if it rains it makes you look like you know what your doing. Rio7

Burning crop residue is a good way to lessen the initial cost of replanting a crop.

It is a bad way to cycle the nurtients back into the ground. Yes, some of it goes into the soil, but a lot of it is lost.


Wheat stubble contains a pile of nitrogen....why would you want to burn that up? Just takes more store bought fertilizer to continue.

When you say it wont germinate unless the ground is burned, do you mean the competition is too great or the variety of seed will not sprout unless exposed to fire?

Does any fence burn with the fires?

Wabigoon, Our fire breaks are 80' and 100' wide on the fence lines. fire rarely jumps them.

Jim Conrad, We are not burning fields that are farmed, all our pastures are mixed native grasses and weeds, we are interested in habitat, for wildlife, Deer, birds, excetra, we are not grazing livestock.

Our burns are to get woody dead plants and big old grass cleaned up and to promote new growth, and to keep wildfire hazards at a minimum.

Rio7

Yes, I see.


I was just interested if there were specific plant that need fire to germinate.


Where does your wildlife shelter during the burning season?

Jim Conrad, Our Wildlife have almost unlimited free range on the rest of the ranch. Rio7

That's good.

We have so little cover up here we really have to think ahead for winter.

Even a big patch of weeds in the fall can save hundreds of birds.

The DNR here loves burning grass in spring. The smoked me out planting beans one day.