Using Fire As A Tool
By Steve Bowman
Using fire as a tool - Burning Piles of Slash at Home is a simple and effective way of removing unwanted slash from trimming and clearing. However simple and effective in this case, may not always be safe. Pile Burning falls under Prescribed Fire and must be conducted or supervised by responsible person. Prescribed Fire, also called prescribed burning or controlled burning, is a form of land management in which fire is intentionally applied to vegetation. Prescribed fires are conducted under desired conditions to meet specific objectives, such as restoring a fire regime in adapted ecosystems or to limit the amount of dry brush in an area prone to wildfires. Two primary types of prescribed fire are used. Broadcast Burning in which fire is applied across an area that can range in size from less than one 1 acre to thousands of acres and allowed to spread up wind and manage by a crew of professional using a very in-depth Burn Plan. Fuel-breaks are used or built around the area as needed and monitored by firefighters. Broadcast burning is very beneficial to the land as it’s the closest to mimicking Mother Nature’s rejuvenation of wildlands by use of fire. Pile Burning is the burning of hand or machine slash piles. Piles are separated to prevent fire spread between the piles. Pile burning is the simplest of the fuel reduction burns – however there are more escapes from pile burns than broadcast burns. The reason for these pile burn escapes can be linked to the simplicity and gives the private land owner and homeowner a false sense of safety and therefore; no Burn Plan, no back-up, non-professional and a untrained person in charge. Piles also hold heat for a long time which can pushes the pile burn into a changing weather pattern. For either types of burning a burn plan should be used and some training should be in place more than the Burn Permit provides.
In starting a slash pile fire, one must consider the environment when considering using a hydro-carbon based fuel like gas-oil mixture or diesel fuel. Other issues is using a “hot” mix of gas-oil/diesel and have fire kick back on you or explode and cause injury or more fire than you can contain. As a private company involved in wildfire and home safety, we are introducing the Homeowner’s “Living with Wildfire” Training Program. There’s no classroom training – all over the internet and through our Web Site and Blog. www.westernfiresupply.com/training. Certificates will be issued for the following:
• Slash Pile burning with Slash Burner – a safe and environmentally friendly way to burn (cert issued). Slash Burner, is a by-product of “gelled” water based alcohol within a clear sealed thin poly tube called a Blivet and comes in a 5 gallon bucket with 40 individual blivets. That is enough to split up with neighbors in an over-all effort to reduce and burn unwanted slash.