Not everybody appreciates them. Who knew?

I think it's because they don't have one of their own. Probably never have.

Awful early, for non clarity?

Wish the idiots around here would quit lighting them, its occupied way to many of my personal hours the last 2 weeks putting out their stupidity.

Years ago I needed to rent a backhoe. While I had it I dug 3' deep burn pit in the back of a pasture. The pit helps keep the wind from blowing junk around until I next light it up. I've been replacing some windows and I dumped a bunch of scrap from that job in there yesterday.

In the summer the county will declare a fire permit season. The permit's free. All it's for is so they know who's burning so they don't send out fire trucks every time someone reports a little smoke. They can just make a quick call to the permit holder to see if he's burning at that time.

Wish I had a place to have a good one.
I actually do, but it is 15 miles from the house.

Apparently they're outlawed in my lovely home state now. At least if the elderly Northerners next door call the Fire Marshall and claim the smoke is affecting their breathing anyway....

"Ya know, people with breathing problems..."

It's not that they light them.

It's that they don't know WHEN to light them.

I still have more than a few from Hurricane Harvey to burn. Maybe after some spring rain on a calm day....

I should point out that I live on an acre and a half and burn on the side bordering 20 acres of cow pasture. Guessing that darn wood smoke must have picked up some contaminants as it rose over my house and fell back down to theirs 100 yards away.

Been burning a big one every year for a long time. Use the spot for gardening in the spring. I follow the rules and never have trouble keeping it under control, or with the authorities. I have a little private party with hot coffee and my iPad. I use a propane "flame thrower" to light it and back-burn the perimeters. That puppy sounds like an F16!

My fire is strictly for garden waste and tree trimmings. Any form of trash or garbage is illegal to burn here.

An elderly lady across the street got a big fat ticket for burning out of season.

Set a slash pile alight yesterday. About 10 ft high and 25 in diameter. Wet as hell. 15 gallons of diesel and two bales of straw, Got most of the center to go. Neighbors didn't complain. Couple stopped by to admire it once it got going.

As soon as it's light enough I'll go see what's left, but pretty sure I'll be piling the remains into a new pile and try to get it going again.

Be nice to have a excavator with a thumb right about now.

Yes, yes it is.

We put out TWO that lit them on whatever day the 40mph wind was forecast to hit.... And got damn lucky on both of them. So did structure owners...although we almost got trapped in a narrow lane with one of the brush trucks...but I don't care what the chief says later, I'll back out and over and through fences to get turned around...

Here, you are simply asked to call in to dispatch ANY time you light a fire. That way we don't get paged out for nothing... its SO easy to dial and give em your name and phone number and address....and so much less work for me. ANY page I get is an hour minimum of my personal time.... 353 pages last year...

I always call, or tell my neighbor across the street in advance when I wanna burn. He's the VFD fire chief here.

My dad used to burn brush on the back of our place. There was a church about 1/4 mile away, boy scouts used to meet in the basement, which was only a couple hundred yards from where he'd burn. One evening he came back to the house shaking his head, he'd gone to check on the pile and found the boy scouts "putting out the forest fire."

You'd think a neatly-piled 8-foot tall stack of brush with the leaves raked away from it on all sides would have been a tip-off, especially for boy scouts.

I grew up just burning pine needles when you needed to burn 'em. No calling anybody for permission, or to let em know you was thinking about doin' it. Times have changed. Especially for those of us dealing with California transplants as neighbors.

I know folks don't like to waste that minute of time... but please think of the folks that get to respond at all hours, when a snowflake drives by and says oh my...

One of our last was a structure fire page... so we had a full response for once. Chief, Engine, Engine 1-2, Tanker and a couple of grass trucks... to find the place thats a 20 minute drive, was burning trash in a barrel in the back yard behind the house....

I once lit a six foot tall pile of tires by accident one time.

That got everyone's attention for miles around.

Around here they call if they see smoke in the distance. Not a clue what is burning.

I burn all my tires, vinyl siding, chemical jugs, limbs and junk. I burn it all at night so the 'heroes' can't see the towering plumes. Hell with a permit.

Why don't you just burn that inside the house so you can breathe the toxins instead of everyone else in the world?

We have idiots that burn trash around here and I don't understand it. Everyone has weekly scavenger service in the first place. If you have a volume of scrap lumber, cardboard, paper, leaves sure, go at it. But these idiots that dump their household trash in a so-called "burn drum" where it won't draw air and burn right in the first place, and then light it and let it smolder all night are idiots. Did I say idiots?

I live in a big lot, wooded subdivision in the first place. If I wanted to live in a place where a late night walk with the dog finds the whole neighborhood covered with a stagnant layer of smoldering household trash stench I would have bought by a dump or something.

Burned a pretty good one in Idaho when we were up there just before Thanksgiving. Have a small one started here in Texas that will go in a couple of months.

My favorite burn pile story. In the middle of a bad fire season, the guy down the street started a big burn pile out in front of his house. I called the Fire department. Multiple trucks showed up and dumped several hundred gallons on it. Wrote him a very large ticket. That fall during burn season, after several days of rain, on a very rainy day. I lit my burn pile. He called 911 and a Oregon State Police officer showed up at his house. I watched as he was pointing at me and waving his arms around for a few minutes. State cop drove by my fire and waved.

How can you burn cshit up without a burn pile??

Turns out there's a subset of 'humans' (arguable), referred to as "city people" or more broadly as Californians that are not versed in the therapeutic benefits of a burn pile. Same people probably don't fish or eat meat. .

A great spot for the local bunnies and quail to hide from our hawks during the winter months. Also a way for me to avoid visiting our local dump. About every third trip or so to the dump, and I end up with a flat tire. Right now it's mostly bark from our last firewood run.

Even cardboard and paper are illegal to burn ouside here. Still a fair number of country people that burn their trash, or throw the bags out on the road, or sneak into the parks to put it in the dumpsters (also illegal). Neighbiring counties in VA have free dumsters for residents, but our county dump charges $5 minimum for dropping off. That, plus time and trouble and gas make $80 every three months for weekly pickup a pretty good deal.

When we bought our property, there were two large burn piles already to go. They were 60-70ft dia and 8ft tall.
We lit them during freezing rain episode. They burnt for the entire weekend. You could see it from a half mile away when you come down the road. I still remember how hot that fire was.

And stand downwind, no doubt. That explains a lot.

I bet your homeowners association won't even let you own your own gas grill.

GFY

In our area burn permits are issued by the tribe. Every body has a burn pile but very few people bother to get a permit or follow the rules like calling first and having the fire out by noon (including me) yet I don't know of one single person that's ever been cited. It's basically an agency created to provide government funded jobs for "Native Americans".

As for burning household garbage.....rural waste removal is mandatory and tacked onto our property taxes.

I guess we have real fire cops here. Big tickets for violent offenders like us. They're impressive I hear, nothing to be taken lightly.

Unless you've lived in the country in non-communist America your whole life.

Is that a whitetail/mule deer hybrid?

several years ago here in ga. it was mandated that only natural debris could be burned, and only with a permit. it included solid wood tree parts, limbs, and garden debris. no trted lumber, no lumber or funiture, etc. of any kind. no trash such as paper, boxes, pallets. you get the drift.

and yes, the state forestry dept is the enforcement mechanism as far as i know. every county is a little different, what with population, land-use activities, density of housing.

something about air quality or some such, or global warming, or neighbors too willing to sue. i don't know.

Not much freedom left in America if you can't burn your sheit w/o some snowflake having a meltdown.

Back in the 7o's, an environmentalist was quoted as saying, "Nothing ever really goes away". I think he was right.

It's gotta suck living your whole life as a victim.....I'd either move or accept it and quit whining if I were you.

oh, i forgot to add a "got-cha" as in the summer months a huge number of counties ringing atlanta can't burn outside at all (they can run their grills). it's to do with emissions coming from cars idling in the hot sunshine on top of asphalt as the traffic piles up. oct-april is ok to burn i'm thinking, with a permit of course. summertime hardwood control burns in said counties are history. the state epd is probably under the command & control of the us epa.

Our min charge at the Romney transfer station is $10.

Burn bbls are also illegal here. Recently found out that slabs are illegal to burn. Both cases are per an EPA rep.

You can have controlled burns here but too many don't apply for permits or report that they'll be doing it. So someone calls 911 and our volunteer fire depts. have to go the through unnecessary hassles of responding. PITA

I had a "burn pile" of stumps years ago. Burned all winter. Snow would accumulate on the top and one would never know there was a fire underneath.....until I pushed it up with the cat. kids would get the hotdogs when we pushed it up. An acre or more of stumps ...piled high. Wish I had pics.

Small burn pile in front of the "Dirty Dog Camp" I made for kids years ago.....no video cames here.

there is that. someone down the street smells smoke in the air, and noone nearby is burning a big pile of leaves.. so, they pick up the phone and dial 911. someone is almost always obligated to respond, even if it's sit down time at Thanksgiving or Christmas Day, or Fourth of July.

its an issue or development related to fragmentation of the land holdings, and that converts to increases in population, and housing density. but, we already know that. close to atlanta and smoke is "the enemy." in sw georgia farming areas, smoke is our friend.

Why do people think it's their civic duty to call someone when they smell smoke? Maybe someone's got a burn pile. It happens ya know.

I called once when I saw a barn on fire.

Otherwise, it's a burn pile.

well, i'm thinking there's generic burn piles and there's specific burn piles? now adays, even in our countryside one can only burn natural stuff, that is non-manufactured. and in some areas only for part of the year.

the old time ways of piling it and burning it are long gone in the larger community. recycling is something else that is catching on, but is totally voluntary in our area at this point in time.

we can put our trash anywhere we wish, as long as we choose the air, water or land for it's disposal. lol.

Only natural, non manufactured stuff. No lumber, even though it's wood, perfect for a burn pile. Only if you have a permit. Only if you call. Only if you get permission. And have a hose handy, and on certain days. Under certain conditions. And don't you dare just light it up.

Only in America.

Go to Nicaragua. They burn whatever the hell they want, wherever and whenever they want. BTW, communist country.

Just neighbors looking out for each other most of the time. Better safe than sorry. I had an incident a few years back where I saw smoke against the ridge out from the house. Called to see if anyone had a controlled burn going in the area. No one did so they would send someone out to check on it. Hung up and looked again and could see flames. Turns out someone had rolled a 4wheeler and caught it and the woods on fire.

Matter of perspective what's best.

Don't see eye to eye with all of the few neighbors I have but that's not relevant at times.

Steve:



That's full on mule deer. Just a little different configuration we see once in a while. No brow tines either.

Years ago I worked for a roofing co. for a few years. After a shingle tear-off, we had a pile of asphalt shingles to dispose of. They were in a pile behind the shop for a reason that I can't remember since they normally went straight to the dump. The boss said to burn them. I called the local FD and asked if we could do it and they told me to go ahead. So, we lit them up. They were getting going pretty good when the fire chief pulled up. He said they screwed up and we couldn't burn them. We had to put it out. Have you ever tried to put out burning asphalt? It's waterproof to start with. The water just runs off the top of the pile while the flames are getting hotter underneath. We kept sprinklers going on it for a couple days before we finally got it out. Then we had a 2000lb lump of fused asphalt to move. What a mess.
If this happened today, I would just tell the chief to bring in a fire truck to put them out. It was their screw up, not ours.

Ran EMS for 15 years. Fire also for 4 years. I would be supportive of a program like the Israeli's. Out of high school mandatory 2 years of service. Choice of either Military or Emergency Services. Cut down on a lot of the obliviots who have nothing to do but call dispatch whenever they don't like what the neighbor is doing...

I only burn when California says I can't...😂

probably don't need any more involuntary servitude. no sense in loading down servants, both male & female with gov't service, unless they're being paid market wages & benefits. but, then that would be a way to eat?

full circle, we're back to population density.

The last burn pits I dealt with are these below. Thanks to the idiots that made decisions (KBR) to burn some nasty stuff. Hospital waste, tires, Haz Mat waste, etc. Thanks to this crap, I hack up black nastiness every morning and typically bloody lugies from my nose.

https://www.vetshq.com/burn-pit-exposure/

Having said all that, I have zero issue with the responsible burning of most stuff. My trash can gets too full, too fast.

We have 2 jumbo brush piles to burn. These fuuckers are both as big as a house and are going to make some serious flames.

There is getting to be enough snow where I think it'll be safe to light them up.

Hell, I had a pile of used net wrap that was getting out of hand(drought/burn ban) and we finally lit that up the other day.

Can't throw it in the dumpster because it makes a mess in the garbage truck so we burn it. But I only light that chit up when the wind is right. Closest neighbor to the south is a couple miles away so we always wait for a north breeze.

Since our son joined the fire department, I have learned most fire calls are a result of a controlled burn that was thought safe. Thought!
A wind comes up later , and blows sparks elsewhere.

This is all kinda funny. Around here burn piles, fields, ditches get burned all the time no problem. Sometimes some idiot will burn a field under the wrong conditions and the worst that happens is he burns some neighbors grass which he probably was going to burn anyway. Can't imagine there's a farm without a burn barrel or pit. Bad part is when a combine sparks up a fire.

It's obviously s 3x3 muley.

Yeah, my kid lectures me too.

I burn when common sense says it's safe, usually right after a solid soaking.

California has "spare the air days" when cloudless high pressure sets in and traps smoke at lower elevations regardless of how soggy things are.

We're screwed. No wind, they call it an inversion, no burning allowed. Wind? No burning allowed.

Take away?
No burning allowed.

I did not say to NEVER burn. Just keep it mind that it takes a while for that fire to be dead out.

Well.

As long as you have regulatory agencies enforcing regulations, that's pretty much what you have to live with.

Either move, or follow their regulations.

As to the title, it is probably best to let a medical professional perform the task rather than attempting it yourself.

This past fall we had some locals sneak down to the riverbottom and cut firewood. We knew about but figured why be dicks, kinda ignored it...

Until the dumbfuucks started a burn pile and had a few acres of trees on fire. Then it became it problem. It was drier than hell all summer and the idiots should have know better.

Our local VFD was down there 4-5 times over the course of a couple weeks. Big old roots had caught on fire/smoldered and it's about impossible to ever get a fire like that out.

Not directed at you wabigoon. It's kind of like firemen, fire danger, and spring rains.

Too much rain in spring, heavy fuel loads later so high fire danger in summer. Using this logic, you would deduce that little spring rain would be great, perfect for summer fire conditions! You would be wrong. Light spring rain, dry later, so bad conditions too.

I'm not sure what firemen want? It's summer, it's going to be hot and dry. Fires likely.

It seems a lot like chicken little thinking that gets imposed on all of us with the threat of huge fines and much inconvenience.

That's why I strictly enforce "No Trespassing" on the ranch here.

You can't count on anybody to NOT be an idiot..

'bout 2 or 3 times a year i get a good one going. i burn everything, tires, shingles, tv's, old cans of paint, you name it. the greenies would hate me. but by the time i'm done, theres just a little pile of melted crap that gets put into heavy duty garbage bags and sent to the landfill. ya, doin' my part.

I did my annual burn in November. Called county dispatch when I started and once I put it out. Simply had to wait for a fairly calm day.

Have to get a burn permit here from mid-October to Mid-May. Takes about a minute online to do. Plenty of things in the local paper of burns getting away and people without a permit being fined.

NW rainy is different than trying to burn a brush pile surrounded by a foot of fallen oak leaves.

An excavator on site oughta buy you some grace too.

....


you are burning great fire wood THAT BARK burns like coal we get fir bark up top 3" thick up here and it is well sought after.

norm

From my pic above, I will light the brush pile anywhere from NYE until March or so, depending on snow cover.

Starting in April or so until the rains of Aug. it's usually a bad idea most of the summer.

Not being an idiot buys you more. Not directed at you

I dug out a 3' deep burn pit out on the back of my place with a shovel and a wheelbarrow. I work it pretty hard after a day when we have a good, soaking rain.

I cut down two dead trees here while back and had 'em logged up and stacked back there. The whole mess got burned on Christmas eve.

I've got a lot of burnin' to be done here. I kinda like those days. I stick a half pint in my pocket,..get the rake, and hang out back there all day.

. You still sound like an idiot there buddy... no matter what name you are going by today. FOAD

. Ok, well noted if we see you on fire don't bother. LOL. I don't get your total pissed attitude for folks that might save someones property by calling. And IF you'd have called in, then no one would even show up. Really damn simple if you ask me.

I've got an old basement on the ranch - call the local (8-10 miles) VFD chief, and check with him before burning - also call the VFD in the village south of us (~15 miles) so everyone knows what is happening. I also try to choose my times.
Some diesel, a cup of gasoline, match, friends, and a 6 pack are cheap, safe entertainment!
I've offered the VFD a burger and hot-dog roast (beverages provided) - but they have yet to accept. They generally leave it to me, knowing I have contact info if the SHTF!

If you need a nanny state, things are going the right direction.

Anyone want to make a bet on highest flames?

(sustained flame height for +1 minute)

Mostly funny [bleep] here , ain't hard to tell the just out of town people when we light a brush pile up it burns for 2 to 3 weeks

Global warming at -20F the other morning.

Up at our high country place my dad has a fire going in the fire pit most of the summer. If it gets real dry (like this summer) he'll only burn after a rain or keep the fire small and make sure it's out before he goes to bed.

25 feet.

I burned an old, 3 story barn, once - fire was reported from over 40 miles in EVERY direction - about 75 from the east
We had a permit to burn. Had to stay back about 100 yds - due to heat.
Thank God that Dad remembered the old acetylene tank in there - and I was curious enough to find a second! (Old gas lighting over at the house)
That barn burned so hot that oak posts standing over 30 yards away would combust from the heat!
Just start smoking, then burst into flame!

I'm going to go 40'.

You're the baddest mofo in the valley.

I meant that's my guess on Sams fire. Try not being so critical sometime.

Baddest mofo in any valley for three miles.

well, a little info would be better.

What size fuels are they? 10, 100 1000 hour fuels?

Any 1 hour or fine-flashy fuels in the pile?

How's the continuity? Height of pile? Density?

Dead fuel moisture? We are going to need you to collect two samples the exact same size. Cook one in your oven then weigh both samples. Results given in a percentage please.

Also going to need the time of day, RH, Dew point, temp, aspect, slope, Haines index, Burning Index, POI, NFDRS, ERC, and WIND conditions right before you light it.

Going to use an accelerant?

I would ask tree species......but probably cotton wood.

I assume you will be counting on the 20 foot winds to manage the smoke......what about your transport winds?



Then......and only then will we be able to put together a reasonable.....wild assed guess!

I thought I was stating well-known fact. Thanks for letting me know you ain't all you try to be here.

Enjoy your hangover.

Bully

Thanks. I bean studyin'.

What's the post hole digger used for this time a year there in the cold ?

Some strange things can come from a fire. Years ago my BIL and I were headed out to hunt one very cold snowy night. We went over a summit and started down a windy 1 track road. There was about a foot of snow and it was about 0. Every time we rounded a corner we could see a light in the sky. Curious. As we got closer, it looked more and more like a bonfire. Up here? Not likely. We finally got to it. About 1/4 mile up an open draw was a big old snag burning brightly. There were no tracks in the snow. We figured that someone's campfire had been burning in the duff since the end of summer and finally worked it's way up to the dead tree roots. At least the tree was all by itself and with all the snow it wasn't going anywhere.

Probably saves Sam from having to stand on the hitch with a bucket load of Silage!

My personal best was around 25' flame height for a burn pile, but I did fly thru a fireball that I made once in the A Shau Valley at about 75' altitude. Burned down half the valley that day.

I've settled down a bit since the days of my youth. Cup of coffee goes good with an early morning burn these days.

LOL!

That reminded me of a local guy here a couple of weeks ago.

His house was totaled by Hurricane Harvey, so the sumbitch just lit it up....

Brought a pretty heavy response from the Fire Dept.

He told the news crew that "he didn't know he couldn't do that"..

It is nice when lifting a heavy bale up and into the chopper!
(that tractor really could use another set of weights...)

We'll get around to taking it off when we go to hook up to the baler......





Back to this brush pile business, I'm gonna have to take a pic.

Kind of what I figured. Sometimes it's easier just to leave stuff hooked up and undo it I get it.

Your are nothing but an azz

We've dealt with "foreigners" like him for years around here. Told the new owner of the property behind me after I was informed by her that I could no longer step foot on her the property that if her place ever caught fire I'd be standing at my property line with a hose. BUT when her house caught fire a couple years ago at 4AM I was the first and only one there and had to notified authorities. Come to find out that she had been in a nursing home away from here for 3 months. House burnt early on a Friday morning and she died the next day.

Says the fireman.

In all it's glorious glory....

I was waiting for the dog to push a Wabbit out of one of those piles.

Around here there would have been a gaggle of Wabbits in a pile that size.

Charlie, we don't have many cottontails around around the farm. I should have looked for tracks.

I'm feeding a little one in my yard in town though. Major brownie points with the wife for that great idea.....

You say that like it’s a bad thing.lol

Spend some time dealing with carelessness, recklessness and stupidity as it regards fire and you might have a different and more informed opinion.

I hate the nanny state and from what I know of Rost he does too. An outdoor fire here is subject to a 3 foot diameter without needing a permit. I had some giant slash piles from logging and stumping my place that I not only permitted but had an excavator and 1000 gallon water truck on site. I don’t give ashit about ninnies whining about the smoke but I damn sure take responsibility that my actions don’t hurt or kill someone else or damage someone else’s property. I’ve been on enough calls throughout the years to understand that stupidity kills, and it doesn’t always kill the stupid, sometimes innocents suffer the actions of fools.

fire is our friend, but if it turns into an enemy it can maim & kill. industrial forestry depends upon fire. epa regs preventing burning is costly for the forestry enterprise. but to be careless and let that smoke from a controlled burn drift over a city or mix with fog over an interstate, and katy bar the door.

individuals in the line of smoke drift that has lung/respiratory problems might want to consult their lawyer before speaking with the folks doing the burning. but in the end, smoke & innocent civilians don't mix.

I feed a lot of em too Sam.

They're particularly fond of my Rose and Juniper bushes.

My Cur dog loves chasing them.
She'd spend the whole day digging in a pile like that if she thought she smelled a Rabbit in there.

Anyone wanting some cottontail rabbits, come on down. Tree eating varmints. it is not as though they do not have a full feed of, shelled corn, and alfalfa hay.

I live trap 'em in town, and release them on my hunting property. We had a blizzard a while back that killed off most of the rabbits in Ohio. I'm restocking my property.

Gents, my pet rabbit.

15 minutes ago.

Bunny Foofs.

Nothing eats like a good cottontail rabbit.

Unless its a pet of course....


Never understood anyone who would shoot one and not eat it. That'll get you schitcanned from the Conrad Ponderosa!

That cut little bunny shore looks lonesome Sam, he need some friends, dozens of friends, come getem!!!

Jim, I've never shot a rabbit in my life.

Or a squirrel.

i have nothing against rabbits nor wabbits in the pot or the pan, but i thought we were all joined to discuss about smoke drift. the ferals of various flavors around here including coyotes, foxes, owls, and cats probably keep the rabbits under control. i'm sure the hawks assist also.

maybe it's time to buy stock in a wood chipper company, and convert wood chips into substrate for mushrooms? i don't know what the market for mushrooms are? i guess it depends.

Hahaha.

setting fires to brushpiles is a fine art. anyone can do it, but doing it efficiently & effectively is what it's all about. a few hundred acres of land containing brushfires is nothing but a day's work for some who walk amongst us. but it all depends.

Richard - remember when we had jackrabbits?

Richard, that's kinda how I feel about the whitetail right about now.


50-60 of them have become haystack pets.

Im guessing his house never burned.

Oh....I'm pretty sure you know exactly what the cost of mushrooms is.

As it should.

I eat a couple every year but the rest get a pass.

I won't admit to being an old softy but last winter was a hard one here and the Cottontails were ravaging my plants but rather than shooting them I bought a couple of bags of cracked corn.

Several years ago we had a couple hundred pheasants living in our stack yard.

They completely destroyed some grain hay that winter.

It was either that or starve.


They got a pass.

it can be a lucrative market, or at least so i have heard.

mushrooms grow in organic substrate.

many kinds & types of 'shrooms.

cost & profit are related.

I've caught trespassers shrooming on my land. Locals, and I was not collecting them myself, but I was pissed at the trespass, so I made 'em work for 'em. Made 'em be my eyes and ears, and chase anyone else off the land. They were allowed to continue for the one season, and I don't call the cops.
Had they asked, I would have granted permission, so they didn't go to waste, perhaps for a share in the spoils, but taking without asking is a good way to gat a stay in the graybar hotel.

ID

Ice gets pretty thick their. Easiest was to drill your ice holes for fishing in the lake. GW

That’s what I was thinking , ice fishing holes.