I had hoped to get a controlled burn on our undeveloped property during the winter but time is quickly running out as our temperatures are already fluctuating between 40-70 degrees. The purpose is to help clear out some of the underbrush and deter snakes for a short term so we can do some clearing. This is a heavily wooded tract with mostly oaks, other hardwoods and a few pines. The Forestry Service will be present and make the necessary fire breaks if we can get this accomplished in the next few weeks. Has anyone done this and what are your thoughts on pros/cons?

-- Marsha / GA (CaprisMaa@aol.com), February 21, 2001

Answers

Marsha, around here (Ar) they use to do that almost every year and it really helped keep down the forest fires. It also kept down the ticks. For some reason it was cut out and now all the dead limbs, vines etc are taking over and create one big fire hazard. Soon it gets so bad that you can't burn it safely. We are in the process of dragging trees and limbs out of the woods around the house and will be burning small spots at a time. I'd go for it if the FD was going to be there to assist. Good luck.

JackD

-- JackD (jdenterprises@centurytel.net), February 21, 2001.

Remember when Los Alamos burned? That was a "controlled burn". Make sure these guys really know their stuff, you have lots of stand-by help and they take in in SMALL areas at a time.

-- Willy Allen (willyallen2@yahoo.com), February 21, 2001.

Marsha, when my husband was an unpaid professional firefighter (aka volunteer but when your department is among the top 10 nationally, you take pride in that professionalism), many landowners would invite the department to have practice burns on such properties, as well as old houses that were no longer habitable. The guys usually jumped at such opportunities for the training and experience. What could be better--providing a public service and having all the personnel and equipment available while getting your underbrush cleared?

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), February 22, 2001.

I wholeheartedly agree with the idea of letting your local fire dept. have a practice!!! We're gearing up for that very thing in our fields pretty soon. It's great to be providing a public service while getting your fields burned off, but better than that is having the fire department already there if things get out of hand.

I was a member of our local VFD/EMS for 10 years and I can't tell you how much "hands-on" training experience will benefit "newbies." In all those ten years, I saw a lot of newbies (and, of course, I was one once). I can tell you definitively that the ones that had experience fighting fire in a staged practice setting were much more confident and able to fight a fire effectively when faced with the real thing. Also, some of the newbies found out that they just couldn't take it ~ would freeze up when the flames got a bit close. It's infinitely much better to find that out in a controlled setting than during an actual fire that's threatening someone's home. And if that home is yours, wouldn't you want a well-trained firefighting force taking care of it?

Good luck! I hope your local fire dept. will work with you on this.

-- Wingnut (wingnut@moment.net), February 22, 2001.

I was pleasantly surprised when the Forestry Service called this morning and advised they could do the fire breaks, but weather wouldn't permit the burn so we proceeded with the breaks. I have to commend them for doing such a professional job, just disappointed they didn't knock over more pine trees (laughing--I hate the pines!) It was wonderful to be able to see portions of the land we've been unable to even walk through as it's so thick in most areas. We'd cleared several sections last year after we had some large pines removed, but undergrowth had grown to 6' in less than 6 months. I should have mentioned that the fire department and extra family members will be present when we burn. But if we can't do it in the next few weeks, I'll wait till next winter as I don't want to disturb the wildlife. Thanks for all your responses.

-- Marsha (CaprisMaa@aol.com), February 22, 2001.

Last May we had a controlled burn to get rid of five buildings (one was a big old granery). At the same time, we decided to burn off about five acres of field. We had the local volunteer fire department come in and practice. Turned out to be a good experience for them! We almost lost our chicken coop and machine shed in the process, the fire burned so hot. The coop roof was in fire and the shed roof was a'smokin! No one expected it to burn that hot, nor did they expect our chickens to survive, but they did thankfully!

It was an awing experience. We did provide lots of soda for the firefighters and paid $50 per fire truck. That helps them keep the cost down.

-- Lisa In WI (lehman16@vbe.com), February 22, 2001.

I was at Lisa's controlled fire! Awesome! We all thought that we were going to have the annual chicken barbecue a little early that year! LOL!

-- Ardie from WI (a6203@hotmail.com), February 23, 2001.

Have you thought about letting the loggers come in? On private property, you can advise what trees to cut - and STILL get paid for them. They haul out their garbage, too, which is a plus. Sometimes, they will even clear underbrush for you - don't know if they charge for that or not....

What about a neighbor with a chipper? That would do the underbrush - and you'd both have mulch for the gardens.

I DO see a need for a controlled burn, but in case you can't - thought you could use some other ideas.... People pay good money for pine and oak!!

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), February 28, 2001.

Sue, We had a company remove the majority of the pines last year. They paid us for the timber and did NOT haul off a lot of whole logs (pine, cypress and oak) or any debris. I've called several companies but NO one seems to be interested in pines or hardwood, say the prices are too low. Have even offered it for neighbors (or people who sell firewood) to cut up what's left, but not many takers. My husband & I cleared about an acre with a DR Tiller and that's what was overgrown in 6 months. Just looks like we may have to wait for next winter's burn. We're enjoying the view from the fire breaks in the meantime.

-- Marsha (CaprisMaa@aol.com), March 02, 2001.